


New Beginnings - Or Not

by Lumos2000



Series: Time and Again [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Goes past it, Maybe - Freeform, Original Character(s), Some Humor, Starts during Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-07-05 08:05:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15859605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumos2000/pseuds/Lumos2000
Summary: It's been years since the incident in New York, and Jo finally believes she can come back.  Unfortunately, the Winter Soldier comes in to play.





	1. Let's Recap

Two years ago Jo had stopped running from SHIELD and faced what had been chasing her. It may have had to do with the fact she was captured, but we won't talk about that. Two years ago, Jo earned a friend among one of the richest men in the world, an assassin, and a slightly less withering stare from a secret organization's leader. Two years ago aliens attacked New York and were defeated by the group known as the Avengers. Two years ago Jo started a new life away from her difficult past, but now it's time to return.

Jo hummed along with the radio as she waited for the light to turn green, absentmindedly tapping her fingers to the beat of the song. She hadn't been to this part of the city since the attack, in fact Jo actively avoided this part of the city, but now she lived here and was running late for her job. The light turned green and she continued on past the park where Thor had left with Loki and the Tesseract.

Since she left, Jo did venture to the X-Men mansion for help in controlling herself. She had also been able to thank the Professor for his deal with SHIELD, it was the only reason she had been standing there that day and not locked away somewhere. Through tests she found her eyes would turn amber when angered, but only after having been a wolf for more than a week. Otherwise she would be fine if someone pissed her off. They had found out, rather by accident, that she was allergic to cotton. Kitty still regrets it to this day.

After her time in the school, Joanna spent a year hiding away in a small town near the Rocky Mountains attending a community college's online classes and learning in fields where she lacked a lot of knowledge. Engineering and science she was a natural in, but Jo needed a lot of help with history and alike. She graduated with a minor in every field she was invested in, which surprised those around her with how fast she had done it.

As a final step in the beginning of her new life, she rented a small apartment in New York, not too far away from the Avengers Tower, but close enough that if there was an emergency, she could haul ass and get help. Jo set herself up a job in a cafe not too far from her apartment and she had been working there for the past five months, and only now did she want to take time off. Ten hours later she was off work and headed home to pack.

 _Three weeks,_ she thought mildly, _I hear Washington DC is nice this time of year._

* * *

Four hours of driving and three hours of finding a house left Jo exhausted. She was renting the house from a nice old man who said he didn't need it anymore. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room. The neighborhood was nice, the neighbors were too but they mostly left one to their business. According to the old man a man from the army lived next door. He cared for the old man's cat when the old man was away.

So with her sleeping arrangements made, Jo fell asleep on one of the couches the old man had left behind. He also left a few appliances like a fridge, microwave, and a brand new bed for whoever bought the house from him. Yes, he was a very nice old man.

The next day Jo spent buying cookware, utensils, and food. Then she spent time rearranging what was left of the furniture. The couch sat under the window facing the street, a chair sat opposite it and a coffee table settled itself in the middle. As soon as she finished putting her clothes into the master bedroom's closet she considered herself done. By then it was three in the afternoon. Jo needed to find something to do. So she did the one thing everyone did when vacationing in Washington DC, she went to the Smithsonian.

Jo's eyes wandered over the spaceships and airplanes above her head, she used to like space when she was little. She had wanted to be an astronaut when she grew up, but then life happened.

She stepped off the escalator and took note of where she was. A Captain America exhibit, she mused. The fact that the legend had an exhibit didn't surprise her in the least. The moment Jo stepped in the room she was greeted with a large group of people, not too big to be considered crowded, but there was enough people to say she couldn't walk seven feet in one direction without having to dodge someone.

There were pictures of the Captain before and after his transformation with the serum, information boards telling whoever read them what happened, when, and why. Display cases stood on either side of the room with objects from the war, and the Howling Commandos too, she assumed. The end of the room held a small stage of mannequins, each dressed in the way the Howling Commandos would have. Behind them was a mural depicting what each man would have looked like.

Jo catalogued the room, no one besides the security guards proved to be dangerous, but even they were low on the scale. One man however, stood out, and she grinned. The man made his way to the screening room and she followed, casually glancing at where he had been moments earlier. It was the small tribute to Bucky Barnes.

The man sat down and Jo sat behind him, taking in his attire. Blue ball cap, white shirt, blue over shirt, and jeans. Inconspicuous and it makes him easy to overlook.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Jo whispered, careful not to let the woman and little girl near hear her.

Steve tensed and slowly turned his head to look at Jo. He was surprised, he didn't think he'd ever see her again. Jo grinned and stepped from her seat, trading it for one next to Steve.

"Jo?" Steve asked.

"The one and only."

She didn't turn from the screen, obviously interested in what was being said by Dum Dum Dougan.

"What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that. This is your life, you already know what happened in it."

"You've changed."

And she has. Where her brown hair once fell to her midsection it now stood up and pointy, almost like Steve's hair cut but slightly longer around the sides. Jo was underweight when she first arrived in SHIELD, but two years away from running and hiding had let her fill out, and she was rather happy with this. Her height hadn't changed, she was still 5'11", only three inches shorter than the Captain himself. Jo's stormy grey eyes showed more life in them, and a mischievous glint shined through where depression and sadness had once been.

"I took a couple of years to myself," she said. "A good few months at a special school to help me with my problems, a year for college, and time in our world to make myself an actual life. Right now I'm on vacation from work in New York. What about you? Why are you here?"

"I missed everything after the war, and I needed a reminder."

"A reminder of what?"

Steve didn't answer, he just kept on watching the screen. Peggy Carter was the one being interviewed now. Jo glanced between the screen and Steve before settling in and watching. For Steve, the interview was over all too soon.

The two left the screening room and headed away from the exhibit, opting for a small cafe only a block from the Smithsonian. They shared a table outside under the shade of a tree.

"You know, next time you're trying to go undercover you should wear glasses. People with glasses easily get looked over because in a scuffle they may get broken, and glasses are expensive."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So, what else have you been doing?" Jo asked.

"If I'm not on missions, I'm catching up on the world I missed while I was asleep."

Steve held up a small notebook open to a page of names. Jo realised that this was a list and quickly ran over the items, humming in thought.

"Alright, I got one for you. I know a lot of bands but for now, we'll start you off with the Beatles. Started off in the early 60s and lasted till the 70s, you'll have some good music, but I'm just biased."

Steve smiled and nodded, pulling out a pen and writing it down. Then they were left to comfortable silence, both enjoying the others company and the scenery around them. All too soon they had to leave the cafe and needed to head their separate ways. Jo, to her house she rented, and Steve to wherever he wanted. Before they could part Jo spoke up.

"You should go see her," Jo said.

"Who?"

"Peggy Carter, the woman you giving heartbroken eyes to in the screening room. Last I heard she lived near here." Steve stared at the woman in shock. "You didn't know, did you?" Jo said. When Steve didn't answer she continued. "Ask Fury where she is he'll know."

Jo held out her hand and Steve took it, then they both made their way to where they wanted. Steve presumably to see Peggy, and Jo wanted to see the rest of the Captain America exhibit before she went home. Instead she chose to go home straight away, after all, she did have a little over two weeks to visit again, and it was close to six at night. No need to rush things.

* * *

The next day she went to the local mall for the last item on list pertaining to the house; electronics. All she really needed was a laptop, tv, and DVD player, then she was all set. Imagine her surprise when two familiar faces walked in.

Steve, wearing something like he was in the museum, except this time he was wearing glasses and a hoodie between his shirt and jacket. Natasha was different since Jo had last seen her. Her red hair was straight and now down to her shoulders. Instead of the tight SHIELD suit show wore skinny jeans, a blue shirt, a striped hoodie with the hood on her head instead of down like Steve's, and a light jacket of the hoodie and shirt.

 _That's_ _three different types of shirts and both are looking around cautiously,_ Jo thought. _Something's up._

So despite her better judgment, she snuck up on the very dangerous, secret assassin and super soldier. Jo sidled up next to Steve and stared at him until he noticed her, it only took a second.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, Natasha only glancing up from what she was doing before continuing.

"One, I was here first. Two, I needed a tv and a laptop for the house and I already have the tv. Three, what's going on? You look suspicious."

Steve yet again didn't answer and chose to look over what Natasha was doing.

"I'm gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware," Natasha said, "so if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from."

An employee suddenly showed up and was staring at the three of them.

"Can I help you guys with anything?" he asked.

Natasha gave a smile and wrapped her arms around Steve in a small hug. "Oh, no. My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations."

"Right! We're getting married."

The look on Steve's face was enough to make Jo snort and turn away to her own computer. Steve didn't appreciate this and shot her a frown when the employee looked to Natasha. It didn't stop her from grinning.

"Congratulations!" said the employee. "Where do you guys thinking about going?"

Steve changed his stare from Jo to the monitor below him before answering, "New Jersey."

It was Jo's turn to frown. What was in New Jersey? She knew the camp Steve had trained at was there, it said so in the one information board she read at the Smithsonian. Natasha was tracing something from SHIELD, both were disguised, so what was going on? Then add in that neither of them looked like they didn't want to be seen or talk to anyone.

"You owe me on guys," Jo whispered to Natasha - who acknowledged her only by raising an eyebrow - before turning her attention to the employee. "Actually, I could use some help."

The man quickly excused himself from Steve and joined Jo's side. Not even one minute later Steve and Natasha made their way out of the store, Steve glancing over long enough for Jo to whisper 'Be careful', then they were out of sight.

Jo woke early the next morning. She spent her time showering and browsing through the news on her new laptop, then a post came up about how an old military training facility had been destroyed in New Jersey. There had been no official statement from the government.

"Holy shit, Steve," Jo whispered, eyes wide.

A pang of nervousness and worry shot through her. Were Steve and Natasha okay? Hell, were they even still alive? Why did the bunker blow up? Did this have to do with SHIELD?

A sound from the kitchen signaled her waffles had popped up. She rushed to the kitchen and grabbed them, Jo went to butter the delicious breakfast but stopped when she noticed something odd. Two people were climbing over her neighbor's fence. The oddness turned to surprise when she noticed the two were Natasha and Steve, both covered in dirt and missing an article of clothing. While there wasn't any blood as far as she could see, Jo still couldn't help but whisper her words again.

"Holy _shit_ , Steve."


	2. Just My Luck

Jo dropped her breakfast on the counter and rushed upstairs, yanking down a small backpack and stuffing a set of clothes in it. She hesitated a moment, but grabbed her spare deodorant and stuffed that inside as well, followed by and extra toothbrush and toothpaste. Then she was out the door, down the driveway, and stepping onto her neighbor's porch. For a moment she considered not barging in, but Jo never really was one for thinking things out.

She opened the door and made her way to the voices, anger slowly filling her. Then she stopped in the kitchen, all eyes on her.

"I swear to God, Steve, if you ever make me worry like that again, I'll kill you!" Jo growled.

The reaction time for her neighbor was actually impressive. One moment he was staring at her, the next he had a gun trained on her.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"I'm Jo, I live next door, and I'm a friend of the Captain and Natasha here. Also, your front door's open," Jo said, not taking her eyes off the only people she knew.

"And you're not one of the people who have been trying to kill him?"

"No."

The man glanced at Steve, who nodded, before lowering his gun. Jo gave a sigh and unshouldered the backpack.

"Two things," she said. "One, don't climb over fences, it's asking for trouble. Two, Natasha these are for you. You look terrible so there's a spare change of clothes, toothbrush, and toothpaste."

Jo held out the bag and Natasha took it.

"There's a bathroom down the hall," Jo's neighbor said, directing both Steve and Natasha that way.

"So," Jo said, rocking back and forth on her heels after her neighbor had come back from shutting the front door, "what's your name?"

"Sam," he replied curtly. "You said you were my neighbor, you end up with the house old man Jenkins used to live in?"

"Yeah he's nice, I like him."

"How'd you meet Steve?"

"Well you're straight to the point, aren't you," Jo snarked. "I met him and Natasha before the Battle of New York two years ago. They're the some first people who had been nice to me." Jo didn't go into detail about her past, there would be no need, so it didn't matter. "And you? Where'd you meet Steve?"

"On a jog in the early morning, he did thirteen miles in thirty minutes. I about died trying to keep up, never could."

Jo snorted in amusement. Not even she would be able to do that, an hour, sure, why not. Thirty minutes was a stretch, even for her. Jo watched as Sam began to make breakfast, suddenly remembering her own sitting on the counter. Oh well, she'd be fine. Then Sam made his way to the back room.

"I made breakfast. If you guys...eat that sort of thing," Sam said.

Sam came back followed by Steve and Natasha, who looked a lot better in the new clothes. They were a tiny bit big, as Jo was two inches taller, but they fit almost perfectly. Natasha took up residence by the counter and Jo, while Steve sat at the table and Sam buttered a piece of toast.

"So," Natasha began, "the question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?"

"Pierce," said Steve, as if coming to a realization.

"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."

"But he's not working alone, Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."

The name Zola sounded familiar, and Jo thought back. Ah yes, he turned traitor to Hydra when he had been caught by the Captain in 1944, the same day Bucky had fallen from the train. Judging by how the two were talking, Jo could guess Hydra hadn't been defeated, and Zola was the reason.

"So was Jasper Sitwell."

"So, the real question is: how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?"

"The answer is: you don't," Sam said, dropping a file in front of Steve.

"What's this?" Steve asked.

"Call it a resume."

Natasha reached over and picked up a photo of Sam and another man. "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you." Natasha turned to Steve, "You didn't say he was a para-rescue."

"Is this Riley?" Steve asked, looking the photo over.

"Yeah."

"I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?"

"No. These."

Sam handed Steve the file, and Steve opened it, glancing of the contents before looking back at Sam.

"I thought you said you were a pilot?" Steve asked.

"I never said pilot."

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason."

"Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in."

"Where can we get our hands on one of these things?"

"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall."

Steve looked at Natasha who shrugged her shoulders.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Steve nodded.

"Well if he's in I'm in too," Jo said. Before Steve could object she held up a hand. "I haven't exactly been sitting on my ass these past two years. I've learned hand-to-hand combat with the X-Men, I learned to be a better shot with a gun thanks to them, and I'm in control of everything."

Steve glanced at Natasha once again before smiling.

"I guess you're in."

* * *

Jo was stationed on a roof across from where Jasper Sitwell had exited a building. She was armed with her regular pistol, only this time it had a red-light attached to it. At Steve's okay she would turn it on and aim at Sitwell. Currently, she was listening in on the conversation Sam was having with Sitwell.

" _And why would I do that?_ " Sitwell asked.

Jo turn on the red-light and aimed down the barrel at the man. The light appeared on his tie.

" _Because that tie looks really expensive. And_ _I'd_ _hate to mess it up,_ " Sam answered.

Jo watched in amusement as Sitwell glanced around, trying to find the source. Panic began to show on his face, and he agreed. While Sam and Sitwell headed off to meet Natasha and Steve, Jo waited on the rooftop for them. She counted the bullets she had, twelve, before putting it away. She pulled out her knife and began to play with it.

Suddenly the door to the roof burst open and Pierce was shoved into the open. He tumbled across the roof, followed by Steve and Natasha

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm," Steve commanded, not pausing in his pursuit.

"Never heard of it," Sitwell denied, still walking backwards.

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"

"I was throwing up, I get seasick." By then Steve had forced Sitwell to the edge of the rooftop, Sitwell just smiled, "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers."

Steve smiled and smoothed out Sitwell's jacket. "You're right, it's not. It's hers."

Steve stepped aside and Jo watched in amazement as Natasha kicked Sitwell off the roof. She thought they had been joking when they said they would do that. She was wrong. It was rather disturbing how calm the two were, but then again, Sitwell wasn't going to die.

"Oh, wait," Natasha said as if remembering something. "What about that girl from accounting, Laura...?"

"Lillian. Lip piercing, right?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, she's cute."

"Yeah, I'm not ready for that."

"Are you two really talking about Steve's dating life?" Jo asked bewildered.

"Or lack thereof," Natasha corrected.

"Point," Jo nodded.

Suddenly Sam, in his Falcon jet-pack suit, flew up with Sitwell and threw him down onto the roof. Steve and Natasha advance on Sitwell, Jo right behind them, and Sitwell held a hand up in fear.

"Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing Insight's targets!" Sitwell spoke quickly.

"What targets?" Steve demanded.

"You!" Sitwell gasped. "A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future."

"The Future? How could it know?"

Sitwell began to laugh, "How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it."

All other occupants of the roof gave Sitwell a look of confusion. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Hydra can read the future? Sitwell saw this and clarified himself, now standing and staring at Steve.

"Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."

"And what then?" Steve demanded.

"Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me," Sitwell said, having come to a realization.

"What then!"

"Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time."

"We need to get out of here," Jo said. "We need to stop this."

Sitwell's gaze snapped up to Jo's.

"I know you," he said. "You're that mutant we had been chasing for just over a decade!"

"So I am," Jo said mildly. "We need to figure out what to do from here, we can't exactly just attack the Triskelion!"

Then they were on the road, Sam, Steve, Natasha and Sitwell in one car, while Jo followed them by herself. And they were doing pretty well until a car passed them both and a man with long brown hair, black clothes and mask, jumped onto Sam's car.

Jo screamed in alarm as the man pulled Sitwell out through the window and threw him into oncoming traffic. Jo watched helplessly as he then started shooting at the occupants of the car suddenly brakes, stopping in traffic. The man dropped down onto the street, and just as Jo went to slam on her own breaks another car smashed into Sam's car and pushed them along the street. The man jumped back onto their car as it came at him, smashed through the windshield and pulled out the steering wheel.

"Shit!" Jo cried.

She raced behind them, doing her best to catch up. Bullets began to flow up from the car, presumably from Natasha, but the man jumped from their car onto the one pushing them. Jo watched in horror as the car was smashed into again, and the car went sideways.

Luck seemed to be on their side when Jo say Steve holding on to Natasha and Sam, sliding on the car door through the streets. Sam was thrown and rolled a few feet before he stopped. Jo slammed on her brakes before she could hit Steve and Natasha.

"Who the hell is that?" Jo screamed as she jumped from her car.

"The Winter Soldier!" Natasha called back, moments before she was shoved aside by Steve, who was knocked off the bridge and thrown into a bus.

The Winter Soldier is joined by Hydra agents and they started to shoot at them, the trio taking cover behind various cars. Jo pulled out her only gun and handed it to Natasha who immediately began shooting back at them.

Another grenade is shot from the launcher and Natasha jumps into the other lane of traffic, Jo opted for jumping across to Sam. All fire was concentrated on Natasha, Jo and Sam were forgotten about for the time being. Again, a shot rang out and an explosion signaled the release of another grenade and suddenly, Natasha wasn't on the bridge either. Shots rang out from the road beneath them relieved Jo from thinking of the fate of a friend.

There was silence and Jo peeked over her hiding place in time to see the Winter Soldier stand up without his glasses and rapidly fire down on where she assumed Natasha had been.

Jo turned to Sam, "Well we're useless. I brought a knife to a gunfight."

"If it makes you feel any better so did I. What happened to your gun?"

"I gave it to Natasha."

More gunshots rang out as more Hydra agents shot at Natasha. Jo stood again and watched as the Winter Soldier jumped onto the lower road, followed by all but two of his men. She liked these odds much better.

"Hey, Sam?"

"What?"

"Want to see a game of 2 vs. 1?"

"What's the supposed to mean?"

When Sam didn't get an answer, he turned his gaze from the street below to where Jo had once stood. She wasn't there. Horror dawned on him and he jumped up to face where the Winter Soldier had been. In his place stood only two men.

Sam watched in morbid fascination as a grey wolf lunged at a man's neck, biting and tearing before he could get a scream out. The next man had noticed the movement and went to aim his gun, but he too had his throat torn out. Sam carefully approached the bodies, eyes the wolf who simply rolled her amber eyes. Seconds later the familiar face of Jo stood in the wolf's place.

"I see what Sitwell meant when he said mutant," was all Sam could say.

Jo ignored him and grabbed two guns off the dead bodies and tossed one to Sam. She leaned over the edge and saw Steve hiding behind his shield at the assault he was under. Jo took aim and shot one of the men, Sam getting the other. They both took cover behind the ledge before doing it again, only this time they did have retaliation.

"Go! We've got this!" Sam called to Steve.

Jo quickly leaned over the railing and shot the woman, she was down. She breathed a small sigh of relief, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Jo rushed to her car and pulled out Sam's Falcon suit.

She tossed it to him and yelled, "Put it on!"

Then she was over the barrier herself and on the road below. Jo gave a groan of pain as she landed wrong. She spotted Natasha behind a car, holding a hand to her left shoulder, Steve wasn't too far away fighting the Soldier.

"Natasha!" Jo yelled in alarm.

Jo quickly ran over to her friend, a small limp in her step. Natasha looked at Jo then stared at the grenade launcher only meters away. Jo watched in amazement as Natasha picked up the launcher and aimed it at the Soldier, whose mask had fallen off, and was aiming a gun at Steve.

The Soldier glanced up from Steve, to Jo, then to Natasha. His eyes widened upon seeing the launcher and ducked behind a car just as Natasha pulled the trigger. The Soldier's own bullet ricocheted off a stray piece of metal. The moment had passed and Natasha leaned heavily on the car next to her, Jo rushing forward and trying to check the wound. Sirens accompanied the vehicles that surged around the four. Then, they were all surrounded, handcuffed and stuffed into a van with two soldiers.


	3. Winter Soldier Enter Stage Right

The silence in the van made it seem like no one was actually there. Two of Hydra's men sat at the beginning of the car, Sam and Natasha sat to the left, and Steve and Jo sat on the right. Steve of whom, had been staring at his arms the entire ride.

"It was him," Steve said. "He looked right at me like he didn't even know me."

"How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago!" Sam asked.

"Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and..." Steve trailed off.

"None of that's your fault, Steve," Natasha mumbled, closing her eyes and resting on the wall behind her.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky."

No one could say anything from that. A sudden flare of pain shot through Jo and she cursed.

"The hell?" Jo lifted her arms and right above her left hip, was a bullet wound of her own. "Not to ruin your thoughts of Bucky any more than they are, but next time I see him, I'm gonna kill him for shooting me."

Sam glanced from Jo to Natasha and began to realize Jo wasn't the only one bleeding. He turned quickly to the guards

"We need to get a doctor here. We don't put pressure on that wound they're gonna bleed out here in the truck."

One of the guards pulled out an electric rod in a threatening way to make Sam be quiet. Then the guard turned, tazed the other guard and kicked him in the face to finish him off. Jo stared in shock when the guard turned out to be Maria Hill.

"Ah. That thing was squeezing my brain," she complained, wiping the hair from her face. She glanced at Sam then Steve, "Who's this guy?"

"Holy shit, Hill," Jo whispered.

"Didn't we capture you two years ago?"

"Yeah and then you taught me to fly a quinjet in five minutes, what's your point?"

Hill shrugged and didn't comment. Instead she reached into her vest and pulled out a cylindrical object. She pressed a button and the top lit up with a small flame.

* * *

The van pulled to a halt and the occupants stepped out. They were at a dam-like structure, Jo noted, wincing as she stepped from the van. If she were honest, she did wonder how she was still standing. The moment she went to take a step she was on the ground.

"Mother fucker!" Jo cried.

Correction: Jo was no longer wondering how she was standing. Steve was holding Natasha up and went to get Jo too, but Sam stopped him. He went over and picked Jo up underneath her legs and behind her back, Jo having to put an arm around Sam to keep some semblance of balance. Then they were back to following Hill.

"My hero," Jo grinned drowsily.

Hill nodded to the approaching man and woman, "GSW. She's lost at least a pint."

"About a pint and a half over here," Sam called.

"Let me take them," the doctor said.

"She'll want to see him first."

Hill led the four down the halls. Jo's confusion worsened as she gazed at Fury. He looked like hell, what happened to him?

"About damn time," Fury greeted.

Later, Natasha's wound was being treated, Jo's having already been looked at and stitched. It went straight through and didn't hit anything. The doctor said she was lucky.

"Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache," Fury listed his wounds.

"Don't forget your collapsed lung," commented the doctor.

"Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good."

"They cut you open, your heart stopped," Natasha whispered.

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

"You were dead? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Jo asked.

She was laying across two chairs, her legs propped up on one.

"Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Steve asked.

"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful," replied Hill.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust. Although I must admit, I didn't expect you, Merlyn."

Jo lazily waved a hand, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Yeah well, last I looked your tracker said you were in the Rockies, what happened there?"

"I dug it out three weeks after I left and carried it around with me, just in case you sent someone to follow me. While I was in the Rockies I was attacked by a bear and I dropped it. I never went back for it."

Fury nodded, "Fair enough."

When Natasha had been cleared, the group left the makeshift hospital room and convened in a larger room. Fury was seated with a photo in his hand, his left arm sitting in a sling. Hill sat to his right and Natasha his left. Jo sat across from Natasha while Sam and Steve opted to stand behind them, Sam behind Natasha and Steve behind Jo.

"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, ' _Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility._ ' See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch," Natasha said.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore."

"And it's not like we can just walk up the the front door, knock, and ask for an audience with their king. Every single one of us would be arrested before we could do squat," Jo rolled her eyes.

Apparently sarcasm was her greatest trait when drowsy and stuck with a numbing agent. Fury ignored her snark and opened a case to his left which contained three chips.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized," Hill turned a computer in front of her to show to the room.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own."

"One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left..."

"We're not salvaging anything," Steve snapped. "We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD."

"SHIELD had nothing to do with it," Fury defended.

"You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed."

"And how many paid the price before you did?"

Fury turned away and cast his gaze to the floor. "Look, I didn't know about Barnes."

"Even if you have, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, Hydra, it all goes."

"He's right," Hill agreed.

Fury stared at Hill in surprise. Then he looked at Natasha then Sam.

"Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower," Sam said, his side had been chosen.

"Well..." Fury leaned back in his chair. "Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."

* * *

"Sorry guys, but I'll just have to sit this one out," Jo said, addressing the three that were leaving.

They were standing outside the facility, Fury was standing near the door, Natasha having already left for her part of the infiltration. Steve, Sam, and Hill were next to the van, each outfitted in their suits. Jo was  leaning on a large stick she had been given, much like a crutch but it looked like a staff. She had found it hilarious when Steve had stolen his costume from the museum.

"Why?"

"Look at me Steve, I can barely walk without having to shift my leg outwards a foot, and I can't bend my knee far. Even with my healing factor this would take at least two hours, time you don't have."

Steve said nothing, but he gave her a smile of understanding and held his hand out. Jo took it with a sly grin and pulled the super soldier into a hug.

"Good luck," she whispered, and let him go.

Steve nodded once more and joined his team. Hill started off and Sam followed, giving Jo a high five on his way by. Steve was just behind them. Of course, Jo being the way she was, shouted after them.

"Bye bye boys! Have fun storming the castle!"

Her enhanced hearing picked up a small snort from Sam. Jo turned and walked, more like waddled, back to Fury. He was waiting for a helicopter to pick him up, for a dramatic entrance he'd said.

"Well like you said, you can't do much," Fury started. "So what are your plans now?"

"I need to make a phone call."

"You got a phone?"

Jo held up her mobile. The screen was cracked, and the case was missing in places, but all in all it was usable. Which was surprising considering how much she had went through within the last 24 hours. Then again,  it was Stark issued, Tony had given it to her along with the car. She'd only used it once before.

"I do stand by what I said earlier," Fury said. "I didn't expect you to be someone I could trust. That being said, I guess Coulson was right about you."

"I guess."

"See you around, Merlyn."

Then he turned away and left, his helicopter was within hearing distance. Jo too turned from the facility, choosing instead to walk down the shoreline. A small bag was slung over her shoulder filled with bandages for her wound and medication for the pain, but she wouldn't need it. Jo scrolled through the contacts and pressed on one of the only few that came up. There was a dial tone, and then:

" _Yeah?_ "

"Tony!"

" _Merlyn? Hey! How's Camelot? Arthur back yet?_ "

"Tony, shut up. This is an emergency, you know I wouldn't call if it wasn't."

" _Alright,_ _what's_ _going on? Are you in trouble?_ "

"Yes and no. Long story short, Hydra has infiltrated SHIELD, Fury is dead, branded Steve and Natasha as wanted people, and now they're retaliating. Shit's about to go down at the Triskelion. So I need you to do me a favor."

" _Depends, what is it?_ "

"I need you to get lie detector tests set up. All of SHIELDs secrets are going to spill onto the internet, and when that happens, true agents will come to you to clear their names instead of being suspected Hydra agents. Can you do this?"

" _Yes, do you need_ _anything_ _for the fight?_ "

"I'm not in it I was shot earlier and normally I'd walk away but this is a hip wound. I'm trusting you Tony."

" _I'll_ _do what I can._ "

"Thank you."

And Jo hung up, resting against a tree and sighing through a small bout of pain. Then she was off again, putting some of her weight on the staff, pausing only to hear the sounds of explosions. The fight was underway, and by the sound of it, the team had accomplished their mission.

Her stroll led her to a small grove, with clear view of the Triskelion. The helicarriers were down, she smiled.

"Well done, Cap. You did it."

The sound of sloshing water gained her attention. Twelve yards down the shore, a figure was dragging a rather familiar face from the water.

"Steve!" Jo screamed, rushing forward.

She made it twelve steps before a metal hand wrapped itself around her throat. Jo felt the bark of a tree pressing into her back and grimaced, opening her grey eyes to stare straight into cold green ones.

"Bucky," Jo choked. She grasped the metal limb and tried in a futile effort to release herself. "Bucky, stop!"

He released her and took a step back, shaking his head. Bucky took a deep breath, stared at Jo for a few moments, before dashing into the forest. Jo slid to the ground coughing and gasping for air. Her phone rang.

"Tony?" Jo wheezed.

" _Jo? Are you okay?_ "

"I'm just..." Jo trailed off, eyesight darkening. "Tony."

Jo's arm fell limp and her phone clattered to the forest floor. Tony's shouts and pleads for Jo to answer fell on deaf ears.

* * *

***giggles***

**I have no regrets.**


	4. Let's Try This Again

Beeping sounded to the left of her and Jo groaned. This was way too familiar.

"You awake there old man?" Tony's familiar voice said from her right.

"Who you calling old man? I'm young enough to be your daughter," Jo croaked back. She opened her eyes and glanced over. "Where am I?"

"A hospital. I had JARVIS track the signal on your phone. I found both you and Rogers at the edge of a lake."

"Prognosis?"

"Well the wound on your hip has healed, but there are bruises around your neck, really purple ones too. What happened, you need to tell me everything."

Jo sighed but complied with the order. She told Tony how SHIELD had been compromised by Hydra, Fury died, Steve and Natasha being on the run, meeting them next door to her house, all of them being on the run, and the fall of SHIELD.

"Well kid," Tony said, standing and stretching, "you need to pick better places to be."

Jo shrugged, she agreed to that 100%. Tony patted a bag at the foot of her bed.

"I'll sign you out, and Rogers is waiting for you at the end of the hall."

Tony strode out of the room, placing a small card on the bag before he left. Jo reached forward. ' _If you need a friend, you know where to find me_ ' it read, followed by an eight digit number.

* * *

Three figures stood around a grave. Steve wearing his signature leather jacket and white shirt, Sam wearing a white jacket and grey shirt, and Jo wore a red leather jacket and black tank top, a scarf was wrapped around her throat. Another figure approached them, it was Nick Fury. He wore sunglasses, a brown hoodie, and a leather jacket.

"So," Fury said, "you've experienced this sort of thing before?"

"You get used to it."

The comment came from both Steve and Jo. Jo had a grave of her own, it sat right between her mother's and her grandmother's in her hometown.

"We've been data-mining HYDRA's files. Looks like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship. I'm headed to Europe tonight, wanted to ask if you'd come."

"There's something I gotta do first."

"How about you, Wilson? Could use a man with your abilities."

"I'm more of a soldier than a spy."

"And you Merlyn?"

"Normally I'd say yes, but I think I need some time before I get back in the game."

"Alright then." Fury shook each of their hands. "Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here."

Fury nodded to his gravestone and walked away. Then Natasha joined the group.

"You should be honored," she said, "that's about as close as he gets to saying thank you."

"Not going with him?" Steve asked.

"No."

"Not staying here?"

"I blew all my covers, I gotta go figure out a new one."

"That might take a while."

"I'm counting on it."

"You should ask Stark," Jo spoke. "He owes me one."

"How'd you manage that?"

"Long story."

Natasha smiled an honest to God smile, and Jo counted that as a win in her book. Natasha handed Steve a folder labeled ' _дело No 1_ 7'. Jo cocked her head in curiosity.

"That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev. Will you do me a favor? Call that nurse."

"She's not a nurse," Steve protested.

"And you're not a SHIELD agent."

"What was her name again?"

"Sharon. She's nice," Natasha kissed Steve on the cheek before turning to walk away. "Be careful, Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread."

Natasha walked away and Steve opened the file. It was about Bucky and the information regarding his Winter Soldier transformation. Sam walked closer to Steve.

"You're going after him?" Sam guessed.

"You don't have to come with me."

"I know."

"So," Jo commented, "what happens now?"

Steve stared at the folder in his hands.

"Now," he said, "I go looking for Bucky. He's out there somewhere and he has no memory of his past life. He barely remembered me from these past few days, I doubt he'd remember you."

Steve said the last part quietly, almost to himself. Jo stared at the man. Why on earth would he remember her? But if the last few days were any indication, she'd want to forget it too. No one needs to live with the memories of a past life.

Jo almost snorted at that. Live with the memories of a past life. Like she did for almost two decades. She'd gotten past it of course. Jo's life of little to no sleep, no family, food only when she could stop and rest, and her -

Jo stopped herself, feelings of guilt, remorse and sadness coursing through her heart. Coldness traveled through her and she shivered slightly at that one memory, that _one_. Then contempt for who had been responsible, it was his fault. Heat burned through the cold and her eyes flared amber. Jo took a deep breath.

Steve turned to Jo. "You said you were taking a break. Where will you go?"

Jo shrugged, "I don't know. I have a job up in New York so I'll be there eventually, but for now, I might try finishing my Smithsonian tour. After meeting you I never did."

Steve laughed, "Yeah well, if you see Stark, you should ask him for a job. He's less likely to fire you for having to avoid work due to an occupational hazard."

"Maybe I will. See you Steve, Sam." Jo hugged both men and turned to leave.

"If you ever need, my house is always open!" Sam called after her.

Jo laughed and turned around, giving a thumbs up in appreciation.

Once at the museum, Jo let herself wander aimlessly through the crowds. She'd looked at the pictures before, read the stories she'd heard before. Pausing in her rounds, she raised an eyebrow at the suspiciously clean looking uniform on the Captain mannequin. Somebody'd cleaned it.

A small nagging at the back of her mind surfaced, but she pushed it away. This only happened when a threat was nearby and Jo focused on the guard nearest her, his back to her. Yeah, he looked like he could be dangerous. She changed her mind when the man turned around and she noticed his big round belly and donut between his finger. Jo scoffed, oh yeah, real dangerous.

Finishing her tour at the memorial wall for James Buchanan Barnes, she stared at the photo. This was Steve's best friend since they were boys, Steve's brother. Glancing at the words she read:

" _Born in 1916, Barnes grew up the oldest child of four. An excellent athlete who also excelled in the classroom, Barnes enlisted in the Army shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After winter training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, Barnes and the rest of the 107th shipped out to the Italian front. Captured by Hydra troops later that fall, Barnes endured long periods of isolation, deprivation and torture. But his will was strong. In an ironic twist of fate, his prison camp was liberated by none other than his childhood friend, Steve Rogers, now Captain America._

" _Reunited, Barnes and Rogers led Captain America's newly formed unit, the Howling Commandos. Barnes' marksmanship was invaluable as Rogers and his team destroyed Hydra bases and disrupted Nazi troop movements_ _throughout_ _the European Theater._ "

"Bucky Barnes," Jo read aloud, "1917-1944. You were only 27 when you fell."

The man next to her shifted. Jo heard the shuffling of his feet and saw the movement out of the corner of her eye. She hadn't paid much attention to him when she walked up. Now that she was looking, he was dressed... wrong.

He was wearing multiple layers, gloves, and a heavy, yet loose jacket. A baseball cap pulled down low over his face, scruff on his jaw, and his long, brown hair brushed against his shoulders.

The man shifted again, but didn't move away. That movement, it was like somebody was preparing for something. Time to go. She casually turned away from the display, trying to get a good look at him as she did. When her eyes met his, she froze.

"Holy shit," Jo whispered, eyes wide.

Jo felt the nagging in the back of her mind return full force. This seemed like one of those try not to startle the wild animal moments. Of course, Jo being the person she was, turned and fled the room. She didn't run, it was more like she lightly sped to the exit, doing her best not to alert the security guards.

Barnes didn't move, at first, just watched her leave with cold eyes. Jo shivered as she felt his stare and turned to look back and make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Instead she saw Barnes only feet from her, he was following her, she realized.

The second she was out of the Smithsonian she booked it, every part of her animal instincts screaming to get away from the danger. Blocks away now, she turned into an alleyway, hissing as the scar on her hip stretched and she put a hand over the wound. It still hadn't healed fully, she didn't know why.

The sound step of boots slowly coming closer let Jo know she hadn't escaped Barnes. She didn't think she could anyway. She slid down the brick wall she was pressed up against. Jo cursed and she was off again, this time she was headed home. A familiar place she knew and could throw him off, right?

Jo was practically dead on her feet when she got home. She had taken twists and turns, retraced her steps and went a different way, overlapped her path, went down alleys and climbed over a dead end's wall. She was pretty sure she was safe.

Jo settled in for an uneasy night, a hazy mind blocking everything out in favor of a full night's sleep. Something was nagging at the back of her mind.

* * *

Bucky Barnes was intrigued by this woman. He had no problem tracking her, though he did commend her on how she went about trying to lose him. Had he been less experienced, she would have succeeded.

He was surprised when she had shown up at the museum, even more so when she didn't make a move towards him in an attempt to capture him. The woman hadn't even tried to call anyone.

And these flashes, memories it seemed, about Steve, and his life before. He couldn't make sense of them. There were ones of him and Steve, both skinny and tall. One flashed in his mind. Both were laughing around a campfire and Steve was wearing his suit. There were men situated around them, they too were laughing. But who were they?

_The Howling Commandos,_ a voice whispered to him. _Don't_ _you remember Bucky?_

Then suddenly, the memory became real.

_Bucky laughed at the story Dugan had been telling. His latest escapade_ _through_ _the bar_ _that_ _had kicked him out._

_"Oh_ _that's_ _a good one," Gabe chuckled. "How about we hear one from you Barnes?"_

_"Yeah tell us about that girl you have. What was her name? Joanna?" Falsworth urged._ _"You know, the same Joanna that saved us from the Hydra facility."_

_Bucky laughed, his mind going to the face with the name. Short brown hair, grey eyes with a mischievous glint, the three inch height difference they shared. He still found it funny how, even with heels on, she_ _couldn't_ _surpass him or Steve in height._

_"There_ _isn't_ _much to tell really. You all know that she's a cousin of Stark's, and to_ _be honest,_ _I'm_ _sure if you ask her something she'll answer."_

_The men all groaned._ _They'd_ _heard all this before! A woman who_ _wouldn't_ _leave Barnes' mind and was related to Howard Stark. That's all they_ _knew_ _about her! That and, she could kick ass. Steve and Bucky_ _shared_ _an amused glance. A small huff drew their attention and Bucky grinned._

_"I'm_ _right here you know," Jo said, plopping down next to Bucky._

_"I still_ _don't_ _know how you got to come with us," Dugan said, dropping his_ _spoon_ _into his broth. He cursed and tried to fish it out, much to the amusement of the others._

_Bucky shrugged and grinned, turning to look at Steve. In turn so did the rest_ _of_ _the men._

_"Don't look at me! She's_ your _girl! And_ _she's_ _Stark's cousin, she can pull weight when she wants."_

The memory ended, and Bucky unclenched his fists, his metal fingers glinting lowly in the moonlight. He sighed, just more memories to sort through and untangle.

* * *

Jo hummed to herself when she hopped out of the shower, wrapping the towel tightly around her. She exited the bathroom and padded her way down the stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Her toothbrush stuck out at an odd angle as she used two hands to pull out the bread and butter. She continued brushing.

Something nagged in the back if her mind and she paused. Something was off. Jo slowly turned around and there in the middle of her living room at seven in the morning, stood the Tony Stark. This took a second to process and then Jo screamed, throwing her toothbrush at him. Tony dodged the offending brush and stared at Jo.

"What are you doing here?" Jo whispered harshly.

"CCTV caught you running from the Smithsonian followed by a man in dark clothes. Then, hours later, he was spotted standing outside your house. He was identified as James Barnes."

Bucky had been outside her house? So she hadn't lost him then.

"So why are you here?"

"I came to make sure you were okay." Jo smiled, it was a nice thought. "And to offer you a job, Natasha said you were trying to get out of the habit of being in fights."

"I do have a job you know."

"Yes. I also know you have some college degrees in engineering and science."

There was a silence and Tony continued staring at her. A grin started to stretch across his face. Jo scowled and Tony laughed.

"Damn you!"

"You have an hour to get ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Pietro voice*
> 
> You did not see that coming? Let's be honest, you all did. Leave kudos, comments.... but mostly comments.


	5. Heat of the Moment

As it turned out, packing up her things went rather quickly. Tony said he'd hire a housekeeper for her. She'd packed as much as she could in two suitcases, clothes, personal items, and such. When she was leading everything, ignoring a man named Happy complaining about how this was _his_ job, Jo hesitated and turned around.

"I have something to do before we go," she said.

Tony shrugged and gestured for her to do what she needed. Jo rushed up the steps of Sam's house and knocked on the door. Seconds later Sam opened it, still dressed in his morning run attire.

"Jo?" Sam asked, surprised to see her.

"Is Steve here?"

Sam opened the door wider for Jo to walk in. He led her into the kitchen and sat down at the table, right across from Steve.

"I'm going back to New York," Jo said.

"Already? Why?"

"Tony came by, turns out I don't need to ask for a job after all. Her offered me one."

Steve smiled, "Well that's great. He still here?"

"Yes but Steve, there's something you need to know." Steve and Sam glanced at each other and waited for Jo to continue. "Bucky was at the museum yesterday, he chased me back to my house. I thought I had lost him but according to Tony he was outside my house. Any idea why?"

Steve was tense and staring at the table in front of him. Sam was staring slack jawed at Jo. Why wouldn't he? First an assassin comes back to life - who turned out to be a long lost friend of Steve - attacks them, assaults Jo, and now he's stalking her? This was a whole new level of freaky.

"I don't know," Steve shook his head. "Why didn't you tell us last night?"

Jo shrugged, she honestly didn't know. She could chalk it up to being too tired, but that was no excuse.

"Anyway," she said, "I thought you should know." Jo turned and walked down the hallway, pausing when she opened the door. "Be careful, Steve. If Bucky is as dangerous as you say he is, then you need to be careful."

There was no reply as Jo shut the door. Sam was left staring at the door and occasionally glancing at Steve. Finally his eyes were glued to Steve, and they narrowed.

"You were lying," Sam accused.

"What?"

"About Bucky. You said you didn't know why he would be outside her house. You know exactly why, and you're not sharing. What happened?"

"Trust me Sam, you believe me if I told you."

 

* * *

 

The next few weeks were hectic for Jo. Between getting settled in with her new job, moving into the Avengers Tower, dealing with the repercussions of SHIELD falling, and trying to keep herself updated with Steve, she was tired. Once she had been dragging herself around the kitchen on twelve cups of coffee and little to no sleep. Tony said she was dog tired and she almost threw a knife at him.

Jo smiled at the memory and sipped her coffee. She had bought it from the cafe two blocks down, along with ones for Bruce and Tony. They were the only ones in the tower besides the actual workers and interns. Clint was off who knows where, Thor was still off world, and with Steve and Natasha in the wind, those three were the only people she actually talked to.

Bruce usually spent his time in the lab with Tony. He was still trying to find a way to turn himself back. Pepper would come down on occasion and scold the two for not eating and staying up too long.

Jo's job included helping all three of them with what they needed. Bruce and Pepper tried their best not to use her like a servant, Tony on the other hand... well he was Tony. Jo usually had JARVIS help her with whatever Tony needed.

On her days off Jo would continue to search for any traces of the Winter Soldier. When she wasn't doing that she was doing her best to keep track of those associated with any of the Avengers. No one had turned up besides a Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, and Erik Selvig, who had all been a part of the incident in New Mexico, and the more recent thing in London. She still wasn't sure what went on there. Getting in contact with Jane hadn't been easy, so Jo went to her intern Darcy.

Now Jane and Darcy sometimes, oh who was she kidding they were always there, stayed in the Avengers Tower. It was a rather horrifying thing for Tony to watch as as all three girls got along. Darcy and Jo were the worst of the three, usually coming up with small pranks on one another, or him when he angered them. There would be no mercy shown to their enemies.

Aside from Darcy and Jo having become _Scientist Wranglers_ , as Darcy called it, Jo's life was pretty normal. Well, as normal as it can be in a life like hers. Darcy was walking next to Jo holding coffee for herself and Jane.

"So what is it they were doing?" Jo asked, sliding her I.D. to get through the gate.

The I.D.s of the Avengers Tower ranged from one to ten. The only tens being the Avengers themselves, Pepper, Jane, Darcy, and Jo. Most interns didnt get above level seven, scientists ranging all levels besides ten. There was a lot of speculation on how two girls like Jo and Darcy got level ten security. One rumor included either one of them being Tony's unclaimed child, another said they were doing _favors._ Darcy had to physically restrain Jo from harming the guy who had said it, but not before he ended up with a broken nose.

"They said that they were working on creating a new element called antimatter," Darcy said, sliding her own I.D. and following Jo into the elevator.

" _Greetings Miss Merlyn and Miss Lewis. Tony's science lab_ _I_ _presume?_ " JARVIS' voice said over the intercom.

"Yes, thank you," Jo nodded. "So what's this new element supposed to do?"

"I'm not actually sure," Darcy admitted.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. The two girls stepped out and found their scientists huddled away on their desks, hard at work. Jo walked towards Bruce and handed him his coffee, he nodded in thanks. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Darcy trying to get Jane's attention with the smell of coffee, it worked rather well.

"Tony," Jo said, walking up behind him, "coffee."

Tony snatched the cup from her before the word had even finished coming out of her mouth.

"So," Darcy said to Jane, "what is this antimatter supposed to do?"

Jane gave a wide grin before starting off on a long rant full of scientific jargon that Jo barely understood, never mind Darcy.

"Any questions," Jane asked.

"Yeah," Jo said, turning to Bruce. "What exactly is it supposed to do."

"Space travel," he said simply. "Think Star Trek travel."

"Oh!"

Jane rolled her eyes at the two girls and went back to her work, muttering things under her breath. Jo ignored the comments.

"Anything you need from us as of yet?" Jo asked.

"Uh, no, I don't think so. We're almost at a breakthrough here and as soon as we hit it we can start to create it."

Jo glanced over to Darcy and held up a hand, Darcy following suit. The two shook their hands up and down three times before stopping on a fourth. Jo's hand was flat while Darcy's was in the shape of a fist.

"I win!" Jo cheered while Darcy gave a groan.

The two always did this when none of the scientists needed them. They would do a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors and whoever won got to leave while the other had to sit around and make sure no one burned something, or killed themselves. It was usually on Wednesdays that something happened, guess what today was.

" _Miss Merlyn,_ " JARVIS' voice chimed as she walked from the lab and into the kitchen. " _There is a box waiting for you on the counter, it seems rather old._ "

"It's not a bomb is it?" Jo asked, eyeing the box.

" _Scans show no sign of any explosive product._ "

"If it is a bomb and I die, tell my wife and kids I love them."

" _I was not informed you are married or had children._ "

"It was a joke."

There was silence from the A.I. and Jo took it as a sign of embarrassment. She smiled up at the ceiling and then stared at the box before shrugging. Jo took the lid off and stared at the note on top. It was old, just as old as the box and the contents inside.

Jo picked up the letter and set it aside, looking at the rest of the objects. An old notebook, what looked like photos, a small jewelry box, a satchel that looked way too familiar, and a key. She peered curiously at the contents.

"Jo! Come here!" Darcy's voice called, startling Jo.

She quickly put the letter back in the box and rushed to the science lab, her own satchel bouncing against her hip.

"What is it?" Jo asked, sliding into the room. "Who died?"

"We've done it!" Tony shouted with glee.

Honestly, a person should not be capable of being so happy after so little sleep and so much coffee. It was unnerving. That's why when Tony shouted this, Jo slid behind Bruce for protection.

She glanced over and saw his notes in a neat pile, Tony's next to his. Jo reached over and flipped through them, understanding some parts and others going right over her head.

"Let's begin!" Jane shouted.

Jo shoved the notes in her satchel and joined Darcy in following the mad scientists to a large device sitting in the far corner. Bruce began typing away at a computer, Tony tightened screws here and there - he could use a few more screws in his head, Jo thought -, and Jane stood shaking with excitement. Jo eyed the woman and took a step away from her and Darcy.

"It's done!" Tony called. "Bruce?"

"All equations entered."

Tony grinned and pulled on a lever on the wall he was standing next to. To Jo, she thought it made him look deranged when coupled with his laugh and his hair, which was sticking up in every which way. She took another uneasy step away from the rest of the group.

The machine whirred to life and a pulsing energy flowed through the room. Jo barely felt it so she wouldn't be surprised if no one else could. A small light began to flicker into existence within a small jar at the center of the machine. Jo leaned in slightly, curiosity showing in her grey eyes. Then a small crack appeared on the glass. That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?

The pulsing in the room intensified and Jo shuddered. Tony shouted at Bruce, probably for him to turn off the machine. The glass broke and the room was engulfed in a flash of white. Jo's eyes burned and she quickly shut them at the assaulting light.

Darcy rubbed her eyes and blinked rapidly as the light vanished. Jane, Bruce, and Tony were doing the same, the light leaving after images. Tony coughed.

"Okay," he said, picking himself from the floor, "let's not try that again anytime soon."

"I agree," Bruce mumbled.

"Hey guys?" Darcy called, spinning in slow circles which were become faster, a frantic look in her eye. "Where's Jo?"

Everyone's faces paled and they all stared at the dark spot where Jo had once been.

In the 1940s, Brooklyn, a figure landed in a dark alley. The only reason for the rough landing was due to the unconscious state of the arrival.


	6. Time Is Time

Jo woke slowly, dazed and confused. The ground was hard and slightly wet, a small puddle was inches from her face. Was she outside? Jo sat up and looked around. She was in a dark, damp alley, at night, and she didn't know where she was.

"Why hello there," a man's voice said.

Jo startled and jumped to her feet, facing the alley entrance and the man. She swallowed the low growl that would've left her.

"Now, what's a nice lady like you doin' in a place like this?"

"Piss off," Jo snarked. "I have better things to worry about than men like you."

The man took a step forward. "Now listen 'ere," he began.

"I think she told you to get lost, bub," a new voice sounded from behind the man. This one sounded familiar.

The first man held up his hands, "I don't want any trouble."

And then he was scurrying out of the alley. Jo focused on the man who had just shown up. He sounded familiar, and his smell, cigars, alcohol, and trees. It couldn't be...

"Logan?" Jo asked.

"Who are you?"

Jo paused and took another long look at Logan. His clothes, they were off. Nothing like he usually wore. And despite how little time the two had spent together while she was at the X-Mansion, they did know a lot about one another. So unless she time... traveled....

"Logan I'm going to ask you one question. _When_ am I?"

"It's September 12, 1942."

Jo wanted to hurl. She pressed her hands to her head and took deep breaths. It wasn't working too well. She was in 1942 and she would be born for another 45 years. Everyone she knew hadn't been born yet. Well, all but two people. Three if she counted Logan.

"Hey, are you alright?" Logan asked.

"Logan if I were to answer that truthfully, you would send me to an insane asylum."

"Prove it."

* * *

Logan and Jo sat on a bench in a park. Logan was staring up at the stars while Jo stared at him. Then he sat up straight and stared at Jo.

"So let me get this straight. You're from the year 2014, you were born in 1987, and now you're here because Tony Stark, son of Howard Stark, accidentally sent you back when he was trying to add another element to the Periodic Table. That correct?"

Jo shifted nervously, it didn't sound all that convincing. Not to mention she probably sounded like a loon.

"Yeah well," Jo said, "you're over a hundred years old."

"And how'd you figure that?"

"I met you while I was... traveling."

In all honesty, it was just a guess. She had seen a picture of someone who looked like Logan in a history book, the year having been titled _1895_. Logan hummed and stood.

"Follow me kid."

Jo followed without protest. He led her through the park and down streets, eventually stopping at an apartment building. She followed him up a few flights of stairs and followed him into his apartment. At was small, and hardly decorated, but it could still house three people.

Logan walked to a closet and pulled down an extra blanket and pillow. Jo followed him to his extra bedroom and watched as he tossed the pillow and blanket onto the bed.

"This is where you'll sleep tonight," Logan sighed, then he turned and left. "We'll figure out what to do in the morning."

"Thank you," Jo called after him.

Her only response was a grunt and the sound of a closing door. Jo took a minute to sigh, and she sat down on the bed. Hopefully this would all just be one bad dream. She set the pillow at the head of the bed and pulled the blanket over herself. Not before taking off her satchel and placing it on the ground. Maybe... maybe this was a dream.

Jo stumbled out of bed the next morning, drowsy, and eyes almost closed. She sat at the table and yawned.

"Tony, I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt I was stuck in 1941, all because you tried to make antimatter." Jo yawned again and opened her eyes fully.

Logan stood next to the counter, arms folded, and an amused smile gracing his face. Jo slammed her head on the table, the loud _thud_ telling Logan just how hard she hit her head.

"You okay?" Logan asked.

"Oh I'm just peachy. How about you?"

Jo's voice was muffled through the table but she knew Logan could hear her perfectly.

"We need to figure what to do with you."

And so the two spent the morning doing just that. Jo didn't tell him much about upcoming history. It was September so that meant the U.S. would join WW2 in just under three months. Logan didn't complain about the missing details. One thing they did come to an agreement on, was that she needed to look like everyone else did. No women in that period wore jeans, t-shirts, and leather jackets. Well not many anyway.

The next thing that came up was money. Logan was just fine on his own and he rarely bought anything he didn't need, but with another person in his apartment things would become difficult. Jo promised to find a job as soon as she could.

By just after noon they figured out living arrangements, money, Jo's clothing, and her back story. She would keep her name, everything, but if asked she would answer that she was born April 1, 1917 in Ohio, but raised in an orphanage. By that moment in time, she would be 25 years old, only two years off from her real age.

Then Logan was gone an hour and came back with a few dresses for Jo, which she spent a good long time laughing at him. Logan was close to stabbing her. Jo grinned and apologized, thanking him for what he was doing for her. It seemed to calm him down.

Later that night both were sitting at the table eating a soup made from potatoes and vegetables. Jo sighed, this was going to take some getting used to. It was a rather uneventful night.

The next day she left the building to search for a job. She found a position open for a waitress in a diner a short distance from the apartment. Jo would begin work the next day.

Over the next few months Logan and Jo gained a schedule. Jo would wake up, make breakfast for her and Logan, both would set off to work - Jo still wasn't sure where he worked, Jo would be walked home by Logan after her shift ended, and Logan would make dinner. The other girls at the diner teased Jo about Logan walking her home every day, Jo just laughed and shook her head at them. It was when she and Logan were headed home she learned the most about him. Logan, much to Jo's amusement, was just a big teddy bear once you got past his gruff exterior.

"I need to talk to Howard Stark," she said on their walk home.

"Good luck with that," Logan replied gruffly.

"I'm serious Logan, he may be the only person in the world who can help me."

"And how are you going to get his attention?"

Jo held up her satchel, opened it, and took the notes out. The same ones she had inadvertently stolen from Tony and Bruce. Left inside was a book and, surprisingly, her phone. That may help as well... it was Stark technology. Jo set the notes on the table and her satchel on the ground.

"These are the notes from Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Bruce is... a scientist in a lot of fields."

"So what, you'll mail them to Stark and hope he answers?"

"Yes, but not all of them. If he doesn't answer I'll still need help getting home. So I'll only send a couple copies. Maybe it'll get his attention."

"Maybe."

The next day Jo sent the letter with the help of Logan. Turns out the postal system wasn't too different 70 years from now. It took a week for there to be any answer, during that time Jo spent any extra time she had pacing back and forth.

On her first day off after a _very_ long and tiring shift Jo climbed out of bed around ten in the morning. Logan would have already left for work, so she didn't bother changing into actual clothes. Instead she changed into her clothes from her own time period, she wasn't going anywhere today. Jo sighed when she realized her hair now now reached her shoulders, she needed to ask Logan to cut it.

When she reached the living room Jo froze. A familiar, yet unfamiliar, face was staring at her. Jo stuck a hand into her jacket and pulled out a knife.

"Who the hell are you?" Jo asked.

"Howard Stark," Howard replied.

"Oh." Jo placed the knife back into her jacket. "Why are you here?"

Howard held up the notes she had sent him. Jo suddenly felt stupid for asking the question. Of course he was here for that, why else?

"Where'd you get these?" he asked.

"If I told you, you'd call me insane."

"Try me."

Two hours, one bottle of alcohol, and a tiny mental  breakdown later Howard knew her story. Jo could see where Tony got his like of alcohol.

"So you need my help to get home?"

"Yes."

"Can you prove you're from 2014?"

Jo reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out the Stark phone Tony had given her for her birthday. It was slightly scratched, but fully operational due to its charging method. Solar power, Jo was proud of Tony for going economic for the phone. The connection to the future is what helped Jo keep her sanity and not think that maybe she _was_ crazy after all. Maybe she _had_ been born in the 1910s and lost her mind.

Howard took the phone from her, gave it a once over, and gave it back. He nodded once.

"I'll help you," he said, " _but_ , you have to give something in return."

Jo thought for a moment. "You have started the Super Soldier program, haven't you?" Howard's surprised look told her that yes, they had. "I know the perfect candidate, where you can find him, and when."

The next few days were about as hectic as Jo's first day at the Avengers Tower. Loud, scary, and strange. Logan almost attacked Howard when he came home and saw him leaning over Jo's shoulder. The issue was fixed almost immediately.

A week passed and Christmas arrived. Jo gave Logan a necklace with a wolverine on it, a small joke of hers. Jo received her own necklace from Logan with a wolf on it. Then it was almost time to go.

It was decided that Jo would travel around with Howard as his cousin. Howard had an uncle who died and there were no records for anyone to check, so he said it was fine. Jo would be helping where she could, trying to do her best with engineering and science degrees. On her last day with Logan she was sad to be leaving him.

"If I could take you with me I would," she said.

"Yeah well, maybe I'll see you on the battlefield."

Logan had been given his orders and was being shipped out within the next week. Jo wasn't too worried, he would live, but it was still war.

"It's not like you can die," Jo joked. Logan huffed a laugh and pulled Jo into a hug.

"See you around kid."

"Later big brother."

Logan looked down at her in surprise and Jo winked at him. Then she turned and left the apartment, giving a small wave in a last goodbye. Howard was waiting by the entrance, Jo's stuff having already been packed into the car.

"Sad to leave your boyfriend?" he teased.

"Brother," she corrected automatically. "But I think I'll see him again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Jo met Logan and Howard. She lived with Logan for three or so months and left on New Year's with Howard. What do you think is gonna happen next?


	7. Scientists Three

Jo had been introduced by Howard as his cousin and was let on to the Super Soldier program rather easily. She was accepted by the scientists when she showed her knowledge in correcting things they missed. Howard probably put them there to see what Jo knew. She met Doctor Erskine weeks after she had joined. By then, it was mid-January.

Between helping out where she could, Jo did her best trying to figure out Jane's part in the creation of antimatter. She told Stark how Jane had been researching space travel via rainbow bridge, which opened up another can of worms she didn't want to deal with. Howard didn't want to deal with real Norse Gods either.

"So," Erskine said, "you know where to find the perfect candidate for my program?"

Jo nodded, brushing a small strand of hair out of her way. She'd finally gotten Howard to cut it, and it hadn't turned out that bad, but short strands would often fall into her face and obscure her vision. She finished tightening a screw and plugging in wires and then called out a 'go ahead' before the generator came to life.

"His name is Steve Rogers. He has a heart of gold. If I remember correctly, he stands up to people when they're being rude."

"Why would this matter?"

Jo paused and stared at the doctor. Why would it matter? Why on earth would he ask that? "Because the serum amplifies the traits the candidate has," Jo stated slowly, as it were obvious.

Erskine's eyes widened as if he realized something.

"Of course!" he shouted. "I don't know why I had missed it!" He shook her hand quickly, ignoring the small amounts of oil covering them. "You saw what I had been missing!"

"Well you can't exactly be at fault," Jo said, taking her hands back and wiping them on her pants to rid herself of the oil. Howard had been able to get her outfitted with pants and shirts so she didn't have to wear a dress. "You've only tested the serum once."

"You said you knew where he was?"

"He lives in Brooklyn. I know for a fact is that he and a friend are going to the Stark Expo in two months time."

"How is it you know this?"

"I can see the future," she deadpanned.

In all honesty, she found this information while sorting through some of Tony's things. Old stuff in one pile, new in another. Jo had asked him to clarify when Tony said 'old', he meant things before he was born. She had gotten to records of the War made by Howard before she had to go home for the day. The last one she had seen was the day Steve became enhanced. Jo wanted to continue the reading but the next day had a gigantic mishap, and then she was in the past.

Erskine stared at Jo and laughed, walking away. "You have a good sense of humor!" Erskine called.

Then Howard walked up, staring after the laughing scientist. "What'd you do to him?"

"I told him I could see the future."

"Funny."

"Erskine thought so too."

* * *

Time rolled by quickly and February came and went in a flash. March had come and the date of the Stark Expo was drawing near. Then it was time. As much as Jo loathed them, she had to wear a dress to this event. Howard couldn't be budged away from this and had Jo visit a seamstress.

In the end she had settled on an ocean blue dress with a white flowery neckline. It reached just below her knees. There was nothing she could do with her hair as it was so short, and Jo gained many strange looks in response to it. Her hair wasn't the only thing that drew strange looks. There was her tendency to wear trousers instead of skirts and dresses. Jo glared at and stared down any person who said it wasn't ladylike, especially the older women and younger men. She had yet to find anyone to match her glare besides Howard who shook it off with a grin and humor.

While at the Expo, Jo was constantly on the lookout for any sign of Rogers and was doing her best to keep track of Howard before he got into trouble. It seemed like her Scientist Wrangling days weren't over yet. At least Howard knew when to eat and sleep whereas Tony barely did either, and Jane was the worst.

Darcy and Jo often had to double team and drag the woman away from a desk to get a proper meal into her. Jane always told them that 'Poptarts and coffee is always a meal so I'll be fine', to which both Darcy and Jo glared at her. Jo once put sleeping pills into Jane's late night, practically early morning, coffee. Darcy didn't object to this and helped Jo drag Jane out of the lab and onto a couch. Tony walked in on them doing so and stopped, staring at the two. Darcy and Jo waved at him, Darcy mouthing a 'you're next'. Tony abruptly turned around and walked back into his science lab, locking it just to be sure.

Jo smiled at the memory and turned her attention to the crowd before her. At the moment, Erskine was walking by her side on the way to the recruitment building. Jo'd given up with Howard the moment he started flirting with every woman walking by, including her when they were secluded. Jo and Erskine stepped inside the building and browsed the hallways.

"And you are sure he is here?" Erskine asked, for the twenty-seventh time, Jo counted.

"Yes, Doctor. He is here, I just can't seem to -" Jo cut herself off, a voice coming within hearing range. "Follow me."

Jo walked through the halls, following the familiar voice, it was Steve alright. And he was talking to someone. Jo paused next to an advert for sign ups, her back to the men, and Erskine stood in front of her. Both listened in on the conversation.

"I know it's a war. You don't have to tell me," Steve defended.

"Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs," said the other man.

"What am I gonna do? Collect scrap metal -"

"Yes!"

" - in my little red wagon."

"Why not?"

"I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky."

Jo startled at the name and quickly glanced behind her. That was Bucky Barnes? She hadn't seen his face in months, not since that thing at the Smithsonian. And even then, he had long hair and a ballcap. He senses weren't going off, or rather they were, but it was like a vague warning. As if past experiences told her to stay away, but instincts said that he was harmless. Whatever happened to Barnes, must have happened after he was shipped off.

"I don't..."

"Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me."

"Right. Cause you got nothing to prove." Bucky sighed, "I've got to go find the girls. Don't do anything stupid until I get back."

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you."

"You're a punk."

Jo turned around fully and stared at the men. Steve and Bucky gave each other a small hug.

"Jerk," Steve said. "Be careful. Don't win the war till I get there!"

Bucky turned around, saluted Steve, and went back to finding the girls. Steve in turn walked away to get an information slip filled out. The moment he was around the corner Jo grinned at Erskine.

"I'll give you three guess as to who it is."

"One second please."

And then Erskine was around the corner as well. Jo held in her mad cackle and followed the scientist. She paused and shook her head, she spent too much time around them. Jo stood outside the examination room, flipping through a magazine. There were voices inside and she didn't bother listening in. Suddenly the curtain opened and out stepped the doctor and Steve Rogers.

"Only a chance," Erskine was saying.

"I'll take it," Steve agreed. He shot Jo a curious look and she waved.

"Hi," she said.

Steve gave a small wave in greeting. Erskine looked between Jo and Steve.

"This is my colleague, Joanna Beth Merlyn. She works with me. Mister Rogers, care to share what you just said to me when I asked if you wanted to kill Nazi's?" Erskine asked.

"I said I didn't wanna kill anyone. I didn't like bullies, and I don't care where they're from," Steve repeated.

Jo nodded. "That right there is why you're getting in Steve. Never lose that."

"Good," Erskine said. "So where is the little guy from, actually?"

"Brooklyn."

Erskine stamped Steve's form and handed him back his file. "Congratulations, soldier."

Jo followed Erskine from the examination rooms. The Expo was still lively, and many were dancing to the music being played. They were walking around when Jo began her questions.

"So," she said, "how'd it go?"

"You were right. He is the perfect candidate, but we still have to convince others of that."

"It's going to be difficult, yet I think they'll see him as the best option in the end."

"Yes," Erskine nodded. "I must excuse myself, I have something I need to do."

Jo waved a small goodbye to the man and promised to find him later, before going her own way. Howard could find her in seconds within a crowd, and he did promise her a ride home. She went through the center of the pavilion and stood on the outskirts, watching the couples dance and mingle. A figure appeared at her side and her senses slowly came to life with a familiar buzz, Jo knew who it was.

"What's a girl like you doing just standing around and not dancing?" Bucky asked.

"Just waiting on a friend."

"And this friend wouldn't happen to want to take you dancing?"

"As far as I know, he's off with some girl, but he'll find me later. My cousin has a strange, yet accurate, inner tracking device."

"So he won't mind me asking you for a dance?"

"Well that's depends, Sarge," Jo said, slowly turning to face Bucky, "on if you have a girl of your own."

Bucky grinned. "No, the girl I brought here was dancing with some other fella. Figured I take a chance with you." He held out a hand. "Care for a dance?"

Jo looked between Bucky's outstretched hand and his face. He looked confident that she would say yes, and normally Jo would have turned down an overconfident man, but there was an undercurrent of nervousness. So she took his hand and let herself be led into the dancing crowd.

Jo placed her arms around his neck and Bucky placed his hand on her hips, not too low to be suggestive or rude. They swayed to the music and Jo found herself smiling, forgetting her problems and just enjoying herself.

"So what's your name?" Bucky asked, lowering her into a short dip.

"Joanna Merlyn. And who am I dancing with tonight?"

"James Barnes, but my friends call me Bucky."

Jo already knew this, of course she did. She wouldn't forget it easily. But Bucky didn't know she knew him, so she asked his name. They continued dancing and sharing stories. Jo found out that Bucky would be shipped out with the 107th, which she had read at the Smithsonian. She also learned that his favorite color was green. In turn she told him she had a cousin working in the science division of the army, her favorite color was red, and she was allergic to chocolate. Or rather, she couldn't stomach much of it.

They had been resting on a bench when Howard came over. He wrapped her in a hug and grinned.

"Jo! It's been forever!" Howard cheered.

Jo groaned and steadied herself when he put her down. "I've been gone three hours Howard."

Howard laughed and ruffled her hair. Jo rolled her eyes in annoyance and tried to do the same to him, only for Howard to dodge and take a step back. He glanced over at Bucky who was staring at the two.

"Who's your friend?" Howard asked.

"This is Bucky," Jo introduced, shifting her weight.

Howard gave Bucky a once-over and nodded approvingly. "It's about time you found someone! I'll be at the car waiting. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Jo cast a mortifying glance at Howard as he walked away. Her face met her hand and she groaned.

"What that Howard Stark?" Bucky asked, staring at Jo. She nodded. "How do you know him?"

"Remember that cousin?" she asked.

Bucky laughed. "Well I can't say you don't surprise me, doll."

"And now that I am sure I have died, may I kill my cousin in revenge?"

Bucky laughed again and shook his head. "You are one of a kind, you know that?"

Jo shrugged and looked away from where Howard was waiting. She met Bucky's gaze and quickly looked down. Howard just _had_ to embarrass her. They both stood up, knowing their time was coming to an end.

"I never did ask, but where did you come from? You sure are a strange one, doll."

"Me? Oh I'm from the future."

Bucky laughed and Jo laughed with him. Only for an entirely different reason.

"Well, doll," Bucky chuckled, "maybe I'll see you around."

"Maybe so, Sarge," Jo teased.

Bucky took her right hand and placed a kiss before smiling at her and walking away. Jo felt a blush flame her cheeks and she quickly started off to the car. As she approached she slowed, thinking of how nice it felt. Jo ignored the smarter part of herself telling her not to get attached.

* * *

The camp was total bullshit. The soldiers flirted with every woman walking by, including her. Jo got the privilege to meet Peggy Carter after she'd punched a man.

"I did that too," Peggy nodded to the soldier scampering away. Jo knew this, she'd been there to witness it. "What was this one's excuse?"

"Told me I'd look much better underneath him," Jo shrugged. "I was working underneath the truck." Jo pointed at the car behind her and Peggy nodded in understanding.

"We haven't officially met, I'm Peggy Carter."

"Joanna Merlyn."

"You're Stark's cousin, correct? Why is your last name Merlyn?"

"My mother's name." Peggy accepted the short response. "Well I'm done here, care to join me in destroying all self worth our program recruits have?"

"I'd love to," Peggy grinned.

Howard would look back on this day and shudder. Two equally fearsome women just met and were getting along. Colonel Phillips found this day to be the beginning of a large nuisance. Erskine, Peggy, and Jo all found their reactions funny.

Jo followed Peggy to where the recruits were beginning push-ups. A man walking by dropped a box and Jo watched in horror as grenades tumbled out. The soldier sighed and began picking them up, taking notice of Jo's expression.

"Er, they're fake," he said, holding one out to her.

Jo took the dummy, "Why on earth would you have fake grenades?"

"To practice throwing them. You can be a good shot all you want, but when you're out of ammo and want to cause some damage, you'd better know how to aim and throw far."

Jo nodded, "Can I keep this?"

The soldier shrugged and went back to picking up the fallen grenades. Jo made her way over to Peggy, noticing the Colonel and Erskine approaching.

"Faster, ladies!" Peggy called to the men. "Come on. My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul. Move it!"

Jo snorted. She prodded Peggy in her side and nodded to the two men closing in. Peggy called to the men.

"Up! Jumping jacks."

And the men obeyed. Jo walked over to the Colonel and Erskine. She folded her arms and leaned against the back of the truck. She watched the men in interest, Steve especially. He wasn't doing so good, but on the other hand... if Jo wasn't like she was, she'd look like him in gym class too.

"You stick a needle in that kids arm and it's gonna go right through him," the Colonel said, staring at Steve. "Look at that. He's making me cry."

"I for one find him hilarious," Jo spoke up. "At least he's trying. I don't see why he can't be chosen."

"We are looking for qualities beyond the physical," Erskine nodded.

"Do you know how long it took to set up this project? All the groveling I had to do in front of Senator What's-His-Name's committees?"

"Brandt," Jo called. "And yes, we know. We know how hard you've been working."

"Then throw me a bone. Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast, he obeys orders. He's a soldier."

"He's a bully," Erskine said.

"You don't win wars with niceness, doctor. You win war with guts."

"You want to see guts Colonel? Watch this," Jo held up the fake grenade. "Dummy grenade." She pulled the pin and tossed it to the men.

"Grenade!" Phillips shouted.

Every person within fifty feet hit the ground or scrambled, all but one that is. Jo watched in amazement as Steve jumped on the dummy and covered it with his body.

"Get away!" Steve shouted. "Get back!" When nothing happened Steve slowly sat up and stared at Erskine and Jo. "Is this a test?"

Jo and Erskine were staring at Colonel Phillips, a smug look on both of them. He looked at Erskine who shrugged

"He's still skinny," he said, and walked away.

Both Erskine and Jo beamed at Steve. Guess he'd proven what he needed to. And on a good day too, they were choosing the soldier tonight.

That night Jo found doctor Erskine walking toward Steve's bunker house. Jo laughed, he was probably giving Steve a talk about what this program was for. An arm was slung around her shoulders. She was about to punch the man touching her but stopped at the voice.

"Hey there science cousin!" Howard greeted. "I have something to discuss with you!"

Howard pulled Jo to the nearest bunk house, which just so happened to be hers. He sat her down on the bed, pulled up a chair and sat on that, and then he folded his arms. Jo shifted and looked around.

"Something came up in your blood work," he frowned.

Jo grimaced. Yeah, she thought this would come up. Honestly she was surprised it hadn't earlier. Each person working in the army had their blood recorded in case they were injured and needed a transfusion, or were marked down if they couldn't give blood.

A mutants blood is slightly different. Not noticeable at a first glance, but if one would look at it long enough, differences would show. With Jo, her blood shared chromosomes with that of a wolf. Which isn't really surprising.

"What about it?" Jo asked stiffly.

"At first nothing was wrong, then I took a closer look. I don't know why, I just did. Guess what I found."

"Wolf chromosomes paired with human chromosomes."

"Exactly! Care to explain why?"

"Not particularly, no."

Howard huffed, "Yeah, I figured. So what, you're a mutant then?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Jo startled. Wait, what? He wasn't going to do anything to her? Mutants weren't exactly cared for in this time period, in fact when discovered they were treated like outlaws and were abused. If she were honest, Jo was glad Howard hadn't started with the insults. Howard saw right through her thoughts.

"Oh give me some credit!" Howard cried. "I don't care if my cousin is a mutant! I care that she didn't trust me enough to say so!"

Jo sighed loudly in relief and flopped onto her bed. At least two people here knew she was a mutant. Howard and Logan wouldn't expose her, Logan especially.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

A weight settled on the bed next to her, signaling Howard's body laying on the mattress. He breathed deeply and Jo copied him.

"I understand why you didn't say anything," he said. "The constant ridicule of your kind wouldn't exactly make a person eager to say who they were. And, given your past, it's not that surprising."

Jo hummed in agreement. It would be nice for another person to know who she was.

"What can you do?" he asked.

"I can hear great distances, although this has been going away as of late, and my eyesight is far better than 20/20. A person I know compared it to a hawk's eye," Jo chuckled at the one-sided joke. "Basically I'm a super soldier, but to a lesser degree. And I can turn into a wolf."

Howard nodded, "Can I see?"

"Are you telling me you want to see me change? And here I thought I was your fake cousin." Jo cackled over Howard's sputtering. She'd finally gotten Howard to trip up on words! Oh this was amazing. "Tell you what, Howard, if you can surprise me, I'll show you my wolf form. Deal?"

Howard and Jo shook hands, Howard grumbling something and Jo laughing lightly. This wouldn't be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erskine meets Steve! And now he is chosen! Howard has confronted Jo about her mutant abilities. Chaos ensues. No news on Jo going home yet... Thoughts?


	8. Super Soldier

Today was the day! Steve was going to become a super soldier! Jo skipped around the lab giddily. Both Howard and Erskine found this amusing, even Colonel Phillips didn't say anything about her rushing about. Important people came filing in, all heading into the chamber above where they could witness the experiment. Colonel Phillips was in their greeting other men and being introduced to some.

Jo was with Howard checking over every tiny detail when she heard the room pause. The two looked up from the wiring and stared at Agent Carter and Steve who were standing at the top of the steps. Howard said he could finish looking it over by himself and Jo rushed up to meet Steve, Peggy, and Erskine. A cameraman was dismissed.

"You ready?" Erskine asked. Steve nodded. "Good. Take off your shirt, your tie, and your hat."

Steve did so and gave them to the nurse. He stepped onto a stand and climbed onto the pod before laying down. Steve sighed nervously. Jo and Erskine approached him and stood at his side.

"Comfortable?" Erskine asked.

"It’s a little big. You save me any of that schnapps?"

Erskine glanced down guiltily. "Not as much as I should have. Sorry. Next time."

"Try not to get the ninety pound man drunk, Erskine," Jo reprimanded lightly. Howard, how are the levels?"

Howard appeared at Jo's side, glancing at Steve. Jo could tell he was nervous. "Levels at 100%."

"Good," Erskine nodded.

"We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready as we’ll ever be."

"Agent Carter? Don’t you think you would be more comfortable in the booth?"

"Oh, yes. Of course. Sorry," Peggy stuttered, hurrying up to the booth.

"Good." Erskine grabbed a microphone and lightly tapped it. A screeching noise carried over the speakers and Jo grabbed his hand to make him stop. "Do you hear me? Is this on?"

"Yes, it is," Jo sighed.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Erskine addressed those in the booth, "today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace. We begin with a series of micro injections into the subjects major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. And then to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays."

Jo made her way down to Howard and stood there, waiting for her que.

"Serum infusion beginning in five," Erskine counted, "four, three, two, one." Jo pushed a lever and the serum began draining from the tubes and into Steve. "Now, Mr. Stark."

Howard pulled his own lever down, and the pod straightens upright, trapping Steve inside. Jo watched Erskine knock on the capsule and ask if Steve could hear him. Steve's answer was questioning if it was too late to use the bathroom. Jo snorted. Erskine turned around and nodded at Howard.

"We will proceed," he said.

Jo pulled on sunglasses, getting ready for the bright light that would blind someone if they looked too long.

"That’s ten percent," Howard said. "Twenty percent. Thirty. That’s 40%."

"Vital signs are normal!" a doctor called.

"That’s 50 %. Sixty. Seventy."

Steve begins screaming in pain as the light becomes brighter. Erskine rushed up to the pod calling Steve's name. Peggy appeared at the top of the steps, demanding that they shut everything down. Jo shifted and stared at the pod anxiously. What if it all went wrong?

"Kill the reactor, Mr. Stark!" Erskine called. "Turn it off! Kill it! Kill the reactor!"

Howard rushed to a different control panel but Jo beat him to it. A voice stopped her from canceling everything.

"No!" Steve called. "Don’t! I can do this!"

Howard and Jo glanced at one another, but Howard went back to where he was, calling out over the sound of the pod. "Eighty. Ninety. That’s 100%!"

Machines began sparking overloading until the reactor closed itself down, the light dimming into nothing. There was silence.

"Mr. Stark?" Erskine called.

Howard pressed a button and the pod opened, revealing the super soldier. Many gasped st the change from a small man to a rather large one. Erskine and Howard helped Steve down from the pod, Steve breathing hard and gasping as they did so. Jo stood in front of them and Peggy was at her side in a second.

"I did it," Steve breathed.

"Yeah," Erskine nodded, "yeah. I think we did it."

"We actually did it," Howard said.

"How do you feel?" Peggy asked.

Steve looked around, "Taller."

Peggy reached out but stopped and looked around for something. Jo grabbed a shirt from a nurse, handed it to Peggy, who in turn gave it to Steve.

"You look taller," she said.

Many people began to shake everyone's hands at the accomplishment. Jo smiled at Erskine.

"I told you it'd work."

Erskine laughed and nodded in a agreement. A senator pulled the scientist away from her and Jo stepped back from the crowd. It was nice, being a part of something so big in history. But it was strange at the same time.

Jo frowned, when she got here Erskine knew nothing about the behavior affecting the serum. Yet history said he already knew. So that either meant that she was destined to come to the past and make sure it happened, or she was thrown into a parallel universe where it didn't and Jo interfered, making this timeline into one where it did. Jo shook her head and breathed a deep sigh. Either way, this was history in the making.

An explosion in the observation room above her sent Jo crouching to the ground to shield herself from falling glass. She glanced up and saw a man stealing the last vial of the serum.

"Stop him!" Erskine and Jo shouted together.

The man shot two bullets, both at Erskine. They landed in his chest and Erskine fell to the floor. Peggy retaliated with two shots of her own, one hitting its mark, before she was after the man. Jo ran towards the man, leaping over the railing and crouching at his side next to Steve. Erskine pointed at Steve’s chest, a reminder to stay good, and smiled at Jo. Then he was gone.

Jo and Steve shared a look before going after the man, Jo just behind Steve. She ignored Howard's shout for her not to follow the men. Jo was out the door just in time to watch Steve tackle Peggy out of the way of a car. He apologized and took of after it. Jo thought quickly. Man on the run in the isle of Manhattan, easiest escape? The boats! There was no way she would be able to catch up, luckily she knew a short cut. Jo glanced at Peggy.

"I'll explain later," she promised.

"Wha-" Peggy didn't get to finish, all she saw was a wolf standing where her friend had been, and then it was gone. Down the alleyways.

Jo took very few turns to get to the loading dock. Many people screamed at a wolf running by, and stared after it when it passed. Shots echoed in her ears and Jo followed them. She exited an alley and paused on the side of a bus, she kept out of view of the civilians. Apparently she arrived just in time to watch the yellow car, Steve now hanging on to the side, smash into a truck. The car lurched and rolled, a door came off its hinges and a man stepped out the moment the car had stopped rolling.

He aimed a gun at Steve and shot, Steve rolled out of the way. Jo slowly crept up behind the man, people screaming and trying to get away from the shooter. One boy wasn't so lucky and he was grabbed. The mother pleaded to the man to let the boy go but he ignored her.

"Get back!" the man shouted at Steve.

The man walked backwards into an alley and Steve followed, Jo right after him. Another shot went off and Steve hid behind a large round thing. Jo wasn't sure what it was. The man fled into a building and Jo was the first one around the corner. She paused and took a peek around the corner. The man hadn't seen her yet.

Steve glanced at the wolf and didn't say anything. He too peeked around the corner but he was seen. The man pointed the gun at the boy. Steve rushed around the corner, his hands held up. Jo followed and stayed by Steve's side.

"Wait, don't! Don't!" he said.

In turn the man pointed the gun at Steve, and it clicked. No more ammo. The man growled and threw the boy over the ledge and into the water, Steve shouting for him not to. The man took off and Steve and Jo rushed to the boy's aid. He was sinking.

Jo jumped in and let the boy wrap his arms around her. They came back to the surface and the boy sputtered for air. He glanced up at Steve.

"Go get him," he coughed. "She's got me."

Steve ran after the man, hesitating only briefly. Jo padded furiously to keep them both above water. She did a slow circle and found a ramp close by. There were people there staring at them, others encouraging her to bring the boy to them. Jo followed their commands and swam to meet them, the boy doing his best to hold on and help the wolf carrying him.

Jo made it to the shore and the boy's mother rushed forward to hug her son. She shook her fur out and looked at the mother, who wept at her son's safe return. She hugged Jo as well, not caring that Jo was a wolf. Jo received a lot of pats on the head for saving the boy, Timmy, his mother called him.

Timmy was holding on to his mother for dear life. When he let go, he too turned around and gave Jo a hug.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Jo licked the boy's face which caused him to erupt in giggle. Suddenly she remembered why she was at the dock. She rushed up the steep hill and made her way back to where she was before. Jo arrived just as the man from before answered Steve's question.

"The first of many. Cut off one head," he pulled a face tooth from its spot and bit down on it, "two more shall take its place." A white foam began to form in his mouth. "Hail Hydra."

And then the man was dead. Jo growled at the man's declaration, drawing Steve's attention. He sighed and kneeled down to Jo's eye level holding out a hand. When she didn't pull away he gave her a few scratched. Demeaning as it was to Jo, she allowed it. Steve didn't know any better.

People began circling them whispering to one another. Then the soldiers arrived, followed my Colonel Phillips, Peggy Carter, and Howard Stark. Jo padded over to Howard and sat in front of him. He kneeled down and whispered to Jo.

"I thought I told you to stay."

Jo huffed and turned away, watching the soldiers cart away the Hydra agents body. Steve stared between Howard and Jo, as did many others.

"That thing yours?" Phillips asked, gesturing to Jo.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Howard nodded. "She is."

The Colonel sighed and made his way to Steve, asking what happened. Peggy wanted to follow but she couldn't stop staring at Howard and Jo.

"Does she know?" Howard whispered, receiving a small nod. He sighed and addressed Peggy, "Jo will explain later."

None of them noticed Steve frown slightly and cast a quick glance over to them.

* * *

Later hadn't yet arrived. Jo had been able to sneak off when they got back to the lab, changing into dry clothes, her hair would be fine. She was down by Howard, trying to figure out what kind of submarine they had in front of them. Senator Brandt was ranting on about his side and how he wanted answers to Colonel Phillips.

"Colonel Phillips, my committee is demanding answers."

"Great. Why don’t we start with how a German spy got a ride to my secret installation in your car?" He turned to Howard. "What have we got here?"

"Speaking modestly, I’m the best mechanical engineer in this country. But I don’t know what’s inside this thing or how it works. We’re not even close to this technology."

"Then who is?" Brandt asked.

"Hydra." Phillips answered. "I’m sure you’ve been reading our briefings."

"I’m on a number of committees, Colonel."

"Hydra is the Nazi deep science division. It’s led by Johann Schmidt. But he has much bigger ambitions," Peggy said, returning from Steve's check up with him in tow.

"Hydra’s practically a cult," Phillips added. "They worship Schmidt, they think he’s invincible."

"So what are you gonna do about it?" Brandt asked.

"Spoke to the president this morning. As of today the SSR is being retasked."

"Colonel?" Peggy questioned.

"We are taking the fight to Hydra. Pack your bags Agent Carter. You too, Stark. Merlyn, you're going with. You’re flying to London tonight."

The group walked off and Jo was left with Howard.

"You got anything back where you're from?" Howard asked.

"Honestly? I don't know, but more than likely yes. I'm not one for army things. Any new leads on getting me home?"

"Sorry, but no," Howard apologized, and Jo sighed, she figured as much. "We might as well stop here. We're not getting very far and we need to pack."

Jo agreed and set down the light she was holding. They could do this later.

When the hours later from earlier had arrived, Peggy, Howard, and Jo were sitting in an aircraft headed for London. Colonel Phillips was at the head of the plane. Jo watched shifting under Peggy's stare until she snapped at the woman.

"What?"

"You're a mutant."

"Yes."

Peggy reeled back in shock. In all honesty she hadn't been expecting Jo to answer so quickly. She had been hoping that Jo would deny it or even tell her that she had been seeing things. But she didn't.

Figuring that it didn't matter anymore, Jo launched into an explanation of who she was and where she was from. She was careful to make sure Phillips didn't walk in on the conversation. Howard sat back and watched Peggy with amusement as she soaked in the information.

"... and then you found out, which led us here," Jo finished. It felt good to tell someone other than Howard.

"Okay," Peggy breathed.

"That's it? That's all you're going to say?" Howard asked curiously.

"Well what else should I say? Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'll help in any way I can."

Jo smiled thankfully at the woman who had become her friend. This was good. She liked not having to lie to people.

The next few months went on as planned. The three would do whatever they could to take down Hydra, and on their spare time they would look for a way home for Jo. Howard pulled strings where he could and was able to get books on Norse myths.

"Hey, who's this Heimdall person?" Howard asked. "There's not a lot about him."

They were seated in one of Howard's largest tents, books and equations scattered around them. Howard was sitting in a chair, Peggy at the table, and Jo was on his bed. She sat up and scrunched her nose in thought, thinking back to what Darcy and Jane had told her.

"He guards the gate to Asgard and provides transport between worlds," Jo said slowly. "Realms as they call them."

Peggy shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe that gods are real."

"Howard locked himself away in his room for three days with a bottle of whiskey. I think you're doing great."

Howard huffed and rolled his eyes.

"And you're sure that you being here isn't changing anything?" Peggy asked.

"Not really no. But some things that should have happened did happen because I was here." Jo looked up and met the blank stare of one Peggy Carter. She sighed. "When I arrived Doctor Erskine knew nothing of the behavioural effects the serum would have. When I'm from, it was labeled a huge thing when I read Steve's file. So when I told Erskine about it, and he hadn't known, I came to the conclusion that I was supposed to be here in the past. After all, if I wasn't here, who knew what would happen? Get it?"

Now Peggy Carter was a smart woman, but Jo just confused her. She looked to Howard for a better explanation.

"Jo made things happen that were supposed to," he said simply.

"Ah."

Jo rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book. Only to look up again when Colonel Phillips walked in.

"Look alive," he said. "Steve's coming by to cheer up the remainder of the latest survivors."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well a lot has happened this chapter. Thoughts?


	9. Hydra

True to Phillips's word, Steve showed up two days later. Jo got out of helping Howard and went to visit Steve. It went horribly. The soldiers threw fruit at him and mocked him. Steve did his best but eventually gave in to the soldiers demands. The show girls went on stage, and he came off it.

"Well that was a disaster," Jo commented, startling Steve. "Oh come on! You have advanced hearing, you should have heard me coming."

Steve shrugged. "Sorry."

Jo sighed, "No, don't apologize. You've had a rough day."

She sat down on a deck, the roof blocking the rain that was sure to come. Steve sat by her, pulling out a sketchbook. He began to draw and the two sat in silence, listening to the thunder roll and the rain hit the ground. She didn't say anything when Peggy approached.

"Hello, Steve," she greeted.

Steve looked up from his drawing, a circus monkey, Jo realized. "Hi."

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"Officially I'm not here at all. Neither is Merlyn or Stark. That was quite a performance."

"Yeah. Uh... I had to improvise a little bit. Crowds I'm used to are usually more uh... twelve."

"I understand you're 'America's New Hope'?"

"Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit," Steve droned.

"Is that Senator Brandt I hear?"

"At least he's got me doin' this. Phillips would have had me stuck in lab."

"And these are your only two options?" Jo asked, raising an eyebrow. "A lab rat or a dancing monkey? You were meant for more than this, you know?" Steve went to reply but hesitated. "What?"

"You know for the longest time I dreamed about coming overseas and being on the front lines. Serving my country. I finally get everything I wanted, and I'm wearing tights."

Jo wanted to laugh, just to make Steve sure his joke didn't go unheard. Instead she watched as an ambulance arrived with wounded soldiers. Steve and Peggy turned around to watch as well.

"They look like they've been through hell," Steve said.

"These men more than most." Peggy received two stares asking for clarification. "Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him and less than fifty returned. Your audience contained what was left of the 107th. The rest were killed or captured."

"The 107th?" Jo and Steve cried.

"What?"

"Come on!" The three raced toward Colonel Phillips' tent. "Colonel Phillips!"

"Well, if it isn't the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan. And what is your plan today?" Phillips sighed.

"I need the casualty list from Azzano," Steve said.

"You don't get to give me orders, son."

"I just need one name. Sergeant James Barnes from the hundred and seventh."

Phillips pointed to Peggy. "You and I are gonna have a conversation later that you won't enjoy."

"Can you tell us if he's alive?" Jo asked. "It's B-A-R..."

"I can spell," Phillips cut her off. He stood up and looked through papers. "I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry."

Jo and Steve fell silent. Jo couldn't believe it. Bucky was alive where she was from, maybe her being had changed things for the worst. No, that couldn't be it! The memorial at the museum said he was captured and rescued. And by Steve too. Maybe this was then! Hope spread through her at the thought of Bucky not having actually died because of her interference.

"What about the others? Are you planning a rescue mission?" Steve asked.

"Yeah! It's called winning the war."

"But if you know where they are, why not at least -"

"They're thirty miles behind the lines. Through the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We'd lose more men than we'd save. But I don't expect you to understand that, because you're a chorus girl."

Steve was silent for a moment. "I think I understand just fine."

"Well then understand it somewhere else. If I read the posters correctly, you got some place to be in thirty minutes."

Phillips walked away, leaving Steve, Jo, and Peggy. Jo caught Steve looking at the military map that showed where the Hydra base was, where the men were.

"Yes, sir. I do."

Steve was out of the tent in seconds, Jo following behind him. They arrived at his tent and Steve began pulling things into a bag.

"You'd better not be thinking what I think you're thinking."

"How did you know Bucky?" Steve retaliated, not looking up from what he was doing.

Then Peggy walked in. "What do you plan to do? Walk to Austria?"

"If that's what it takes."

"You heard the Colonel, you're friend is most likely dead."

"You don't know that."

"Even so, he's devising a strategy. If he detects -"

"By the time he's done that, it could be too late!"

"You do realize you might die out there, right?" Jo demanded.

Steve walked out of the tent and the two women quickly followed. They watched as he tossed his shield into the back of a jeep, followed by his bag. He turned from Peggy to Jo.

"You told me you thought I was meant for more than this. Did you mean that?"

"Every word."

"Then you gotta let me go. Both of you."

Peggy sighed and nodded. Jo shook her head. "I've got a better plan. A shortcut of sorts."

"You know the roads around here?"

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need, roads."

Peggy caught on to what Jo was implying. "No."

"Come on, this'll be a great plan!"

This was not a great plan. In fact, this was a horrible plan. Jo had convinced Howard to take them up in a plane to drop off Steve. It was bad enough she hated flying, one of the reasons she and Logan got along so well. Jo hummed a song to take her mind away. She hadn't seen or heard from Logan in a while. He usually sent her a letter once every other week. Peggy was briefing Steve on the layout of the land.

"The Hydra camp is in Krausberg, tucked between these two mountain ranges. It's a factory of some kind."

"We should be able to drop you right on the doorstep," Howard said.

"That's if they don't shoot us down first!" Jo called.

"Just get me as close as you can," Steve said. "You know, you three are gonna be in a lot of trouble at the lab."

"And you won't?" Jo snarked. "You're going behind enemy lines with nothing but a shield, gun, no battle experience, and balls of steel."

Howard laughed while Peggy sent a reprimanding look to Jo. She shrugged in response. Steve was blushing madly but turned back to Peggy.

"Where I'm going, if anybody yells at me I can just shoot them."

"They will undoubtedly shoot back."

"Well, let's hope it's good for somethin'." Steve knocked on his shield.

Jo closed eyes and took a steadying breath. If Bucky was dead, then the timeline was screwed. But if he was alive, then this would be when Steve would liberate the soldiers and the Howling Commandos would form. History would be okay. Jo racked her brain for any other information about Bucky but came up with nothing. She knew he died, just not how or when.

Explosions rocked the plane and Jo startled. Steve stood up and Jo followed, Peggy behind them. Steve opened the door and got ready to jump out, Jo standing at the edge of the door.

"Get back here!" Peggy called. "We're taking you all the way in."

Another explosion tipped the plane and suddenly Jo wasn't leaning on the side of the plane. She was falling _out_ of it.

 _Shit_ _I'm_ _dead holy fuck_ , Jo thought, watching the plane get farther and farther away. She saw Steve jump after her, doing a nosedive until he wrapped his arms around her. Jo did the same, wrapping both arms and legs around him, modesty be damned. He gave her to the count of three before pulling the cord to the parachute.

The jerk left her winded. When they landed in Austria Jo took the moment to puke. She missed her boots which she was thankful for wearing. Steve, ever the gentleman, patted her back to show comfort. Jo coughed roughly.

"Thanks," she said. "I thought I was going to die."

"Don't mention it," Steve said.

"So... what are we doing now? But leaving me here? That shit ain't gonna happen," Jo said nonchalantly.

Steve gave her a look of disapproval at her choice of words, but by now he knew nothing could stop her from using them. Any manners Jo had obviously weren't in use after dropping hundreds of feet.

Jo's boots were sinking into the moist ground, and she looked around. The surrounding fog made the forest look creepy. She shivered, they needed to get moving. Jo was also fairly certain she saw something moving in the far distance. She sure as hell hoped it wasn't anything from those horror movies she used to watch with Darcy. The ones Darcy picked out scared her to sleeping with her light on more often than not.

A twig snapped.

"Okay, nope!" Jo said, walking towards the Hydra base. "I am not going to be eaten by some demon in the woods just because you can't make up your mind. Have fun!"

"Jo!" Steve rushed after her. "You have to go back. It's not safe."

"Not happening. I know the way to the base, I don't know the way back. And this forest is creepy. I'm fairly certain I'll be eaten."

Steve cast her a curious glance. "You're superstitious?"

"More like I've seen too many horror films and I don't want to end up as that one person who is separated from the group and ends up being killed first. Besides, unlike you, I do have experience in hand-to-hand combat."

"Where'd you learn that?"

"A special school."

There was silence as they made their way toward the facility.

"You never did tell me how you knew Bucky."

"He asked me to dance on the night of the Stark Expo, the night you were accepted into the program."

Steve nodded. "What about Stark? He's your cousin?"

"Yes, why?" Steve shrugged. "Spit it out, Steve. I might not answer in a few minutes."

"At the loading dock right after I became this," Steve gestured to himself, "a wolf appeared out of nowhere and saved a boy."

"Yes, I heard."

"After everything, Stark said to Peggy that you would explain something. What was it?"

Jo paused in her steps. Damn this man and his enhanced hearing. She sighed and ran her fingers through her short hair. The Steve in her future never flinched when Jo was announced a mutant. Maybe it was because he already knew. Jo damned Steve yet again. Out with it then.

"What's your opinion on mutants?"

"What does that -" Steve stopped himself realization dawning. "You're a mutant."

"Yes. And I was that wolf on the dock."

"Oh. Sorry about the pats on the head, by the way."

Jo snorted. "Yeah it was a little demeaning, but you didn't know. Peggy saw me transform, that was why Howard said that."

"Is there anything else you're keeping secret?"

"Yes. Everyone has their secrets, and this one can't be shared beyond two people. I'm sorry Steve."

Steve nodded, accepting the answer. And then they were off again, Jo more tense but glad that Steve knew.

Eventually they found themselves at the entrance of the Hydra facility. Neither one of them know how to get in. The sound of a running engine reached their ears and they shared a look. As the last vehicle approached, Steve and Jo took off after it, jumping in through the back. Two of Hydra's men were sitting a few feet from them.

"Fellas," Steve greeted.

The two attacked and were taken care of rather quickly, their bodies thrown out into the road. The trucks made it into the facility without a hitch. Steve stepped toward the end of the truck and held up his shield. The flap covering the inside was lifted by a Hydra man, and Steve slammed his shield into him, sending him back out cold. Jo snorted and followed Steve out the truck.

They made their way around the grounds, between tanks, and across the yard. Steve hopped up onto a tank and onto a low roof, Jo hot on his heels. They ran across the roof and got inside via open window. Steve knocked on the door lightly. A Hydra soldier opened the door only to be met with a punch to the face and his head knocked into the door. Jo slid the unconscious body into the room and stepped out the door.

They crossed the room when no one was watching, making their way through what looked like warheads. They paused at a circular object with glowing blue objects inside. Jo stepped forward and picked up a small cartridge. Steve pocketed one and she did the same. Jo spied a door labeled ' _Cells_ ' and rushed toward it. She wasn't sure why it was written in English, but she didn't care.

She opened the door quietly and stepped in, Steve closing the door softly behind them. A Hydra soldier was slowly walking away from them. She scanned the area, no other soldiers. Steve snuck up on the soldier and hit him on the head with his shield. Jo grabbed the keys from the unconscious man.

"Who are you two supposed to be?" a man from below asked. Jo recognized him as Gabe Jones.

"I'm... Captain America," Steve said.

"And I fell out of the aircraft carrying us here," Jo deadpanned.

"I beg your pardon?" a man Jo thought may have been Falsworth said.

"Then beg," Jo said. A man below her laughed, Dum Dum Dugan, she thought.

"I like her."

Steve and Jo made their way down to the cells and unlocked every one of them as they went by.

"What, are we taking everybody?" Dugan said, referring to a Japanese looking man. Jim Morita, Jo's mind supplied.

Jim flashed his dog tags, "I'm from Fresno, Ace."

"Is there anybody else? I'm looking for a Sergeant James Barnes."

"There's an isolation ward in the factory but no one's ever come back from it," Falsworth said.

"All right. The tree line is northwest, 80 yards past the gate. Get out fast and give 'em hell. I'll meet you guys in the clearing with anybody else I find. Jo, you lead the way."

Jo gave a mock salute with a, "Yes, sir, Cap-i-tan."

"Wait! You know what you're doin'?" Gabe Jones asked.

"Yeah. I've knocked out Adolf Hitler over two hundred times."

Jo groaned and shook her head as Steve dashed off. The soldiers looked to her for instruction. So she led them out of the cells.

"This way!" she called.

Two doors stood in the way of their escape and Jo started running towards it, the men slowing down to watch what she would do. Jo took a great leap and slammed her shoulder into the doors, and to the men's surprise, the doors opened. Jo groaned and held her shoulder, stepping out of the way of the prisoners escaping into the compound. They overpowered the guards with their sheer numbers. She watched as Jim snapped a Hydra soldiers neck and Dernier picked up one of the Hydra guns.

"You know how to use that thing?" Jim asked. Dernier pulled the trigger and blew up a wall. "Okay."

Jo made her way into the battlefield dodging whatever projectile that came her way. She followed Dum Dum and Jones, overtaking a small tank. She stepped in the tank followed by Jones.

"Hey," Dum Dum greeted. "Not exactly a Buick."

Jones pointed at one of the controls, "That one. Zündung."

"Zündung?" Dum Dum pressed the button and the tank started up. He laughed in delight.

Falsworth jumped into the tank, "Get this thing going, Dugan!"

"I didn't know you spoke German," Dum Dum said.

"Three semesters at Howards, switched to French, girls much cuter."

"Didn't ask for the resume."

"Just hit whatever is in sight you two," Jo groaned.

"You okay over there, girlie?" Dum Dum asked.

"If one of you could help me set my shoulder, that would be great."

Jones went around the step ladder and helped her with her shoulder. He gave her to the count of three, and they set it right, Jo groaning at the pain. She rolled her arm experimentally, nodding at the feel and in thanks to Jones. Jo stood and joined them at the front.

"We need to go out that gate," she pointed.

Dum Dum laughed as he blew up enemy tanks. Falsworth joined in the laughter as he blew up the tower and the gate that was supposed to hold the in.

"So what's your name, girlie?" Dugan asked. "Captain whoever called you Jo."

"Technically it's Joanna, but everyone calls me Jo."

The tank made its way down the hill and they stopped, Jo hopping out and staring as the facility went up in flames and explosions. Jo watched the place burn down, worry flowing through her. Where was Steve? Did he find Bucky? Did they get out? Where were they damn it!

"We need to get out of here," a man said loudly.

"We're far enough away, we'll be fine. We need to wait on the Captain."

The man gave Jo a once over. "And who are you to give orders?" A few men oohed and watched the exchange.

"The person who helped get your sorry ass out of that place."

"But why should we wait for this Captain? He could be dead for all we know."

"Because I said so."

The man scoffed, "Because you say so? What'll happen if we don't listen? Huh? What's a girl like you gonna do to me?"

"I would listen to her, bub," someone said.

Jo glanced around the men and met her brothers gaze only a foot away. She launched herself at Logan and hugged him tightly.

"Logan!"

"And here I was thinking my sister forgot about me," Logan deadpanned.

"Not a chance, you can't get rid of me that easily."

The man from before scoffed again. "Oh look, big brother to the rescue. Can we go now?"

"No!"

"You can't stop me."

Jo quirked an eyebrow. Before the man could blink Jo punched him, slammed his head into the side of the tank, kicked a knee which sent him to the ground, and finished him off with a kick to the face. All the men standing within view took a noticeable step back from her. Dugan was howling with laughter, as was Jones and Falsworth. Logan was grinning.

"Any objections?" Jo asked sweetly.

"Objections to what?" a familiar voice asked.

Jo turned around and faced the voice. "Steve!" she cried, rushing forward to meet him in a hug.

"Joanna?" another voice asked.

"Bucky!" Jo turned and gave the man a hug as well. "You're alive!"

"No, I'm just a figment of your imagination," Bucky joked.

Jo punched him in the arm and Bucky gave a mock hurt look. She rolled her eyes and turned to the men watching them. She cleared her throat and made her way to the front of the line.

"Alright men," she called out, "it's a thirty-mile walk back to camp. If we start off now we'll make it back just after dawn. Let's get moving." When no one moved Jo snapped out a loud, "Now!"

The men immediately started walking down the road, Steve, Bucky, and Jo leading the way. Logan and the rest of the group Jo knew followed. Someone had the decency to pick up the unconscious man.

"What did you do to them?" Bucky asked.

"Someone thought he was above me and shouldn't wait for the person who helped rescue them. I knocked him out."

"She sure did," Jones nodded, coming up behind them. "We didn't even know what happened until the guy was on the ground out cold."

"Barnes, your lady here probably scared half the troops," Dugan added.

Steve and Bucky glanced at one another before looking down at Jo. She ignored their stares. They spent their time catching Bucky up on what he missed. _Everything_ , that he missed.

"So let me get this straight." Bucky pointed to Steve, "You signed up to be a super soldier, gave you a serum that they weren't even sure was going to work, and you come out here to rescue me with no experience?" He turned to Jo. "And you, you're a mutant, and you let him come out here alone but fell out of the plane on the way by, helped in a prison escape, and intimidated an army. That sound correct?"

"Don't forget my brother walking behind us. You just met him, remember?"

"Oh, yes, let's not forget that."

"I think solitude has made you snarkier than usual. There's not enough room in the world to handle the sarcasm we would create together. Sarcasm is an art, a language."

"Sarcasm isn't a language," Logan corrected.

"Wouldn't it be great if it was?"

"No," several voices answered and Jo pouted.

It was a long walk back to the camp, and day had come by the time they reached it. People began filing out of their tents and Jo grinned.

"Serious faces, boys," she said. "Let's make a good entrance."

And so they entered the camp. Steve leading, followed by Bucky and Jo, then Dugan, Jones, Falsworth, and Logan and then the rest of the men. Colonel Phillips met them and Steve saluted him. The Colonel's eyes glanced over the men, stayed on Jo briefly, and then landed on Steve.

"I'd like to surrender myself for disciplinary action," Steve said. "But a lot of these men need medical attention first."

Phillips raised an eyebrow at Steve, glancing at the hundreds of men he had rescued. "That won't be necessary, Captain." Then he looked to Jo. "What do you have to say to yourself, Merlyn?"

Jo stared and met his gaze. "All I did was fall out of a plane. You should try it sometime, it might get rid of those stress lines."

Jo could have sworn she saw the man smile. He nodded and made his way back through the crowd. Peggy approached Steve. Jo was about to greet the woman when she was swept up in a hug.

"Oh thank God! I thought you were dead!" Howard hugged her tighter.

Jo laughed as she was put down. "We both know I made a deal with the devil."

"Damn Jo," Dugan whistled. "Just how far up is your ranking?"

Jo shrugged, "I'm just Howard's cousin. Although that would be nice to know."

Dugan opened his mouth to say more but shut it. He shook his head. A voice called over the rest of the men, it was Bucky.

"Hey!" Bucky called. "Let's hear it for Captain America and Merlyn!"

Cheers erupted and people clapped for their saviors. Jo laughed when Bucky hoisted her above his shoulders. She was let down seconds later and Jo turned to face him. Jo gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before skipping away, Howard following in her step. Bucky and Logan stared after her and when she was out of sight Logan clapped him on the back.

"Good luck," he said. "You'll need it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's almost four thousand words here. I hope your happy. Also, sorry for the lateness, I was in the hospital. 
> 
> In other news, Bucky is back! And so is Logan! Bet you thought you saw the last of him, huh? Anyone notice my Back to the Future reference?
> 
> Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?


End file.
